* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting. OKAY, [00:00:01] I'M ABOUT TO STAND. [*A portion of this clip is without video*] [I. INVOCATION, PLEDGE & ROLL CALL ] GOOD MORNING. GOOD MORNING, AND WELCOME TO OUR CITY COUNCIL SPECIAL MEETING FOR MONDAY, AUGUST 24TH, 2026 AT 10:00 AM YOU CAN JOIN US, UM, IF IT'S WORKING, IT'S GOING IN AND OUT. JUST WANNA MAKE SURE, UM, THOSE THAT DO WATCH, UNDERSTAND THAT WE'RE HAVING SOME ISSUES WITH THE ZOOM LINK. AND IT MAY GO IN AND OUT ON YOU, BUT WE'RE GONNA CONTINUE ANYWAY. YOU MAY JOIN US BY TELEPHONIC AND OR BY VIDEO CONFERENCE. YOU MAY DO SO BY DIALING 8 7 7 8 5 3 5 2 4 7, OR 8 8 8 7 8 8 0 0 9 9. YOU MAY ENTER THE MEETING ID OF 8 1 7 5 7 2 3 8 9 9 9 AND ENTER THE PASSCODE 0 7 5 6 1 8. IN ADDITION TO THAT, YOU MAY, WE WANNA MAKE SURE WE'RE IN COMPLIANCE WITH THE AMERICAN WITH DISABILITIES ACT. YOU MAY CALL 24 HOURS IN ADVANCE, UM, TO OUR CITY SECRETARY'S OFFICE AT 4 0 9 9 8 3 8 1 1 5. I'M GONNA ASK THAT EVERYONE WILL PLEASE MUTE YOUR CELL PHONES THIS MORNING. WE'RE GONNA GET STARTED WITH OUR MEETING. WE'RE GONNA HAVE INVOCATION PLEDGE AND OUR ROLL CALL. THIS TIME I'M GOING TO ASK, UH, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER FRANK TO LEAD US IN A WORD OF PRAYER. LET'S BOW ALL WISE IN ETERNAL GOD, OUR FATHER THIS MORNING AS WE COME BEFORE YOU. IT IS WITH THE HEART OF THANKSGIVING FOR GIVING US ANOTHER OPPORTUNITY AT LIFE. AND THEN AS WE GATHER THIS MORNING, WE PRAY FOR YOUR WISDOM, YOUR GRACE, YOUR MERCY. WE THANK YOU FOR YOUR LOVE, AND WE THANK YOU FOR LOVING THE CITY OF PORT ARTHUR AND LOVING YOUR PEOPLE NOW. BLESS US, HOLD US, KEEP US FOR HAVING YOUR CARE. ALLOW US TO MAKE THE WI WISE DECISIONS THAT WILL IMPACT YOUR PEOPLE IN A RIGHTEOUS WAY. WE PRAY IN JESUS' NAME, WE ASK IT ALL. AMEN. AMEN. AMEN. I PLEDGE A PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG OF UNITED STATES, AMERICA, AND TO THE REPUBLIC, REPUBLIC FOR WHICH IT STANDS. ONE NATION UNDER GOD, INDIVIDUAL WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE. DRAW CITY SECRETARY, ESTABLISH A QUORUM, PLEASE. MAYOR MOSES. HERE, MAYOR PRO. TIM KINLAW. HERE. COUNCIL MEMBER GETWOOD. COUNCIL MEMBER JONES. COUNCIL MEMBER KENYA. COUNCIL MEMBER JACOBS. HERE. COUNCIL MEMBER FRANK HERE. YOU HAVE A FORUM, MAYOR. AWESOME. THANK YOU. CITY SECRETARY. AT THIS TIME [II. WORKSHOP] WE'RE GOING TO MOVE TO ITEM NUMBER TWO, WHICH IS OUR WORKSHOP, UM, TO DISCUSS THE PROPOSED FISCAL YEAR 20 26, 20 27 BUDGET WITH EMPHASIS ON CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS, ENTERPRISE FUND, AND OTHER SPECIAL FUNDS. WE'LL DO THAT AT THIS TIME. WE COULD USE THAT. YES. SO MAY YOU WANTED TO DO THAT OR YOU WANTED TO DO SO MAYOR, WHAT WE, WE WILL START WITH THE EDC BUDGET FIRST. UM, OKAY. WE HAVE THE REPRESENTATIVES SO THAT WE CAN GET THEM OUT OF THE, FROM ED, C OUT OF HERE. OKAY. THEN I NEED TO, UH, THAT'S ITEM NUMBER TWO. YES. UM, WE WILL THEN MOVE TO, I'M SORRY, YOU HAVE A COPY OF IT. UM, I DON'T THINK WE HAVE, I DON'T SEE THAT. YEAH, YOU HAVE A COPY OF THE BUDGET? BUDGET? YES. IT'S ONE. THIS ONE. THEY GOT IT. I DON'T SEE MINE, BUT ANYWAY, I'LL FIND IT. YOU WANT IT? YES. THANK YOU. GOT IT. THANK YOU. JUST GIMME ONE SECOND BECAUSE I, I READ NUMBER ONE AND IF WE'RE GOING TO MOVE TO NUMBER TWO, I WANNA MAKE SURE FOR THE RECORD THAT WE'VE READ THE CORRECT THING THAT WE'RE GONNA MOVE TO. SO WE'RE GONNA, UM, HOLD OFF ON NUMBER TWO, ONE, AND THEN MOVE TO NUMBER TWO, WHICH IS TO DISCUSS THE PROPOSED FISCAL YEAR 20 26, 20 27 BUDGET FOR THE PORT ARTHUR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION. WE'LL GO TO ITEM TWO AND THEN COME BACK TO ITEM NUMBER ONE. THANK YOU. OKAY. MIKE MIC. A MIC IS WHAT? CAN YOU, YES. OKAY. THANK YOU. CITY MANAGER. OKAY. THANK YOU ALL FOR ALLOWING US TO PRESENT THE PORT ARTHUR EDCS 2020 6 27 FISCAL YEAR BUDGET. OUR FINANCIAL OPERATIONS OFFICER, MRS. RACHEL JACKET, HAS PREPARED A PRESENTATION FOR YOU THIS MORNING. BUT BEFORE I TURN THE MIC OVER TO MRS. JACKET, I WOULD LIKE TO TAKE A MOMENT TO PROVIDE SOME PERSPECTIVE ON WHAT THIS BUDGET REPRESENTS, AND MORE IMPORTANTLY, WHAT IT IS INTENDED TO ACCOMPLISH. [00:05:01] THE PROPOSED 2027 EDC BUDGET APPROVED BY THE PC'S BOARD OF DIRECTORS IS APPROXIMATELY $16.2 MILLION. YOU'LL NOTICE THIS IS AN INCREASE FROM LAST FISCAL YEAR. WHILE CORE OPERATION COSTS HAVE BEEN DECREASED, APPROXIMATELY 11 POINT 0.4 MILLION OR 70.6% OF THAT TOTAL BUDGET IS DEDICATED TO ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS AND INCENTIVES, BOTH CARRYOVERS THAT HAVE BEEN APPROVED THIS YEAR, AS WELL AS NEW INCENTIVES THAT WE PLAN TO ACCOMPLISH THIS UPCOMING YEAR. THOSE RESOURCES SUPPORT BUSINESS ATTRACTION, BUSINESS RETENTION AND EXPANSION, ENTREPRENEURSHIP, WORKFORCE AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS, INCENTIVES FOR INVESTMENT AND OTHER INITIATIVES DESIGNED TO STROKE WILL STRENGTHEN OUR LOCAL ECONOMY. THE REMAINING PORTION OF THE BUDGET SUPPORTS THE INFRASTRUCTURE NECESSARY FOR US TO DELIVER THAT MISSION. THAT INCLUDES OUR STAFF AND CORE, CORE OPERATIONS, THE MANAGEMENT AND MAINTENANCE OF OUR PROPERTIES AND BUSINESS PARK CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS AND OTHER FINANCIAL OBLIGATIONS. IN THIS UPCOMING YEAR, WE ARE CARRYING OUT THE PADC BOARD OF DIRECTORS AND CITY COUNCIL'S MISSION AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT BY INVESTING IN OPPORTUNITIES TO ATTRACT NEW BUSINESS AND INVESTMENT, WE ARE INVESTING IN THE EXPANSION AND RETENTION OF OUR CURRENT EMPLOYERS. WE ARE INVESTING IN ENTREPRENEURS WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT, AND NOW WITH THE PASSING OF THE FOUR B PROPOSITION, OUR COMMUNITY ASSETS AND INFRASTRUCTURE. AND WE ARE MAINTAINING THE ORGANIZATIONAL AND PHYSICAL INFRASTRUCTURE NECESSARY TO MANAGE THOSE INVESTMENTS RESPONSIBLY. ULTIMATELY, OUR GOAL IS TO USE THE RESOURCES AND TRUSTS TO THE EDC IN A WAY THAT CREATES LONG-TERM ECONOMIC VALUE AND OPPORTUNITY FOR OUR COMMUNITY. WITH THAT, I WILL TURN THE MIC OVER TO OUR OPERATIONS MANAGER, MRS. JACKET, SO THAT SHE CAN WALK YOU THROUGH THE TECHNICAL DETAILS OF THE PROPOSED BUDGET. GOOD MORNING, MAYOR IN COUNCIL. GOOD MORNING. MY NAME IS RACHEL JACKET AGAIN. I AM THE FINANCIAL OPERATION OFFICER FOR THE PORT ARTHUR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION, AND I WILL BE REVIEWING THE 26 27 PROPOSED BUDGET. I WILL START BY GOING OVER THE GENERAL BUDGET NARRATIVE. THE PHYSICAL YEAR 26 27 BUDGET YEAR GOALS ARE SUPPORTS THE ORGANIZATION'S STRATEGIC PRIORITIES AND ANNUAL OBJECTIVES THROUGH RESPONSIBLE ALLOCATION OF FINANCIAL RESOURCES, PROVIDES FUNDING FOR ESSENTIAL PERSONNEL, OPERATING EXPENSES, EQUIPMENT TECHNOLOGY AND PROGRAM NEEDS, REFLECTS ANTICIPATED OPERATIONAL REQUIREMENTS BASED ON HISTORICAL SPENDING TRENDS AND PROJECTED COST. EMPHASIZES FISCAL ACCOUNTABILITY THROUGH ONGOING BUDGET MONITORING, VARIANCE ANALYSIS AND FINANCIAL REPORTING PROMOTES TRANSPARENCY AND INFORMED DECISION MAKING THROUGH REGULAR REVIEW OF BUDGET PERFORMANCE. AND PLEASE BEAR WITH ME WITH THE CLICKER HERE, IF Y'ALL , WHICH, THERE WE GO. THE CORE REVENUE PROJECTIONS FOR FISCAL YEAR 2027 CONSISTS OF THE ELC LEASE AT $132,588. SALES TAX REVENUE AT 7.5 MILLION. RENTAL INCOME FOR 5 0 1 PROCTOR IN THE PRESS BUILDING AT 230,000 LAND SALES AT 1,310,500. INTEREST ON INVESTMENTS IS STAYING STEADY AT 203,999 AND BUSINESS PARK MAINTENANCE IS ALSO STAYING STEADY AT 52,890 FOR A TOTAL REVENUE PROJECTION OF $9,429,977. THE VISUAL HIGHLIGHTS THE PROJECTED REVENUE ALLOCATIONS BY SOURCE, INCLUDING EACH SOURCE CONTRIBUTIONS IN BOTH DOLLARS AS A PERCENTAGE OF THE TOTAL PROJECTED REVENUE. SALES TAX REVENUE REPRESENT THE LARGEST SHARE ACCOUNTING FOR 7.5 OR 80% OF THE TOTAL PROJECTED REVENUE. AND LAND SALES ARE THE SECOND LARGEST REVENUE SOURCE GENERATING APPROXIMATELY 1.31 MILLION OR 14% OF THE TOTAL PROJECTED REVENUE. THE PROPOSED BUDGET INCLUDES THE PLAN USE OF THE FUND BALANCE FROM TWO SOURCES, CARRY FORWARD FUNDS DESIGNATED IN THE CURRENT FISCAL YEAR, FISCAL YEAR 25, 26, AND ADDITIONAL FUNDS BALANCE [00:10:01] TO SUPPORT OPERATIONAL AND CAPITAL PRIORITIES WHILE BALANCING THE PROPOSED BUDGET. HERE YOU'LL SEE THAT THE CARRYOVER RE RESERVE FUND FOR FISCAL YEAR 2026, WHICH IS OUR CURRENT YEAR, IS $5,613,412. THE ADDITIONAL RESERVE FUNDS ALLOCATED FOR FISCAL YEAR 27 IS 1,118,180. AGAIN, THAT TOTAL RESERVE FUNDING IS $6,731,592. THE TOTAL ALLOCATION FOR OPERATIONAL COSTS IS $12,426,813, DISTRIBUTED ACROSS SEVEN CORE FINANCIAL AREAS, INCLUDING PAYROLL. THOSE CORE AREAS ARE BUSINESS RETENTION AND EXPANSION, CORPORATE LEVEL ENTREPRENEURSHIP, PROGRAM MARKETING AND INSIGHTS, WORKFORCE AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT. PRESS BUILDING 5 0 1 PROCTOR AND AGAIN, PAYROLL FUNDING HAS BEEN ALLOCATED BASED ON EACH AREA RESPONSIBILITIES, OPERATIONAL NEEDS, AND STRATEGIC ACTIVITIES. HERE IS A VISUAL CHART OF THE OPERATING EXPENDITURES AND SUPPLIES AND MATERIALS. WE HAVE 134,700 IN EXPENDITURES MAINTENANCE, 518,200 CONTRACTUAL SERVICES, 9,724,003, CAPITAL OUTLAY 700,000. PAYROLL 1 MILLION 349 9 10. AGAIN, THAT TOTAL OPERATING EXPENDITURE IS $12,000,426. 813, I'M SORRY. SO 12,426,813. I APOLOGIZE. THAT'S OKAY. THIS HIGHLIGHT, THIS SLIDE HIGHLIGHTS THE FIVE MAJOR COMMITTED OBLIGATIONS IN THE PROPOSED BUDGET. THESE FIXED CURRING COSTS ARE ESSENTIAL TO OPERATIONAL AND MEETING CONTRACTUAL AND LEGAL REQUIREMENTS. THE FIVE OBLIGATIONS ARE MICRO LOAN PROGRAM, GENERAL FUND ADMINISTRATIVE COST PAYABLE TO THE CITY OF PORT ARTHUR DEBT SERVICE GRANT TO THE CITY OF PORT ARTHUR PARKS AND RECREATION BAY S AREA GOLF COURSE UPGRADES, WHICH IS A FOUR B DEVELOPMENT PROJECT AND GENERAL LIABILITY. THIS SLIDE HIGHLIGHTS THE FIVE MAJOR COMMITTED. THE FINANCIAL COMMITMENT TRANSFER VISUAL BAR IS, UH, IN FRONT OF YOU. THE MICRO LOAN PROGRAM HAS AN ALLOCATION OF 50,000, THE GENERAL FUND ADMINISTRATIVE COST 150,000. DEBT SERVICE TO 29 56. TRANSFER TO THE CITY OF PORT ARTHUR FOR THE GRANTS FOR THE, UM, CITY OF PORT ARTHUR PARKS DEPARTMENT. I'M SORRY, I'M HAVING TROUBLE SEEING YOUR SCREEN HERE. UM, $1 MILLION AND THE GOLF COURSE UPGRADE 2.3 MILLION GENERAL LIABILITY FUND, 13,800. AGAIN, THAT TOTAL IS $3,734,756. AND THIS IS JUST TYING THE TWO TOGETHER. THIS IS YOUR OPERATIONAL ALLOCATION AND THE COMMITTED OBLIGATION, WHICH BRING THE PROPOSED BUDGET FOR FUND ONE 20 TO $16,161,569. LET'S TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS. THE DETENTION POND REPAIR UPGRADES IS AT OUR PORT ARTHUR BUSINESS PARK, AND WE ALSO WILL BE DOING BUILDING IMPROVEMENTS AT 5 0 1 PROCTOR. WE HAVE KEY REPAIR AND UPGRADES TO OUR SHOW. PHONE UPGRADES AT FIVE OH ONE PROCTOR, THEN CAP CAPITAL INVESTMENT CATEGORY FACILITY IMPROVEMENT 150,000, WHICH IS 21% OF THE TOTAL CAPITAL INVESTMENT DETENTION POND REPAIRS 550,000, WHICH IS 79% OF THE TOTAL CAPITAL INVESTMENT. THE PHONE UPGRADE PROJECT WILL REPLACE THE CURRENT PHONE SYSTEM, WHICH HAS REACHED THE END OF SUPPORT. UPGRADING THE SYSTEM WILL ENSURE CONTINUED VENDOR SUPPORT, [00:15:01] IMPROVE RELIABILITY AND FUNCTIONALITY, AND HELP MAINTAIN UNINTERRUPTED COMMUNICATION SERVICE. THE PROJECTED COST OF THE UPGRADES OR REPAIRS TO PHONE LINES IS $10,000. NOW A LITTLE BIT ABOUT BUILDING A FUTURE WITH FOUR B DEVELOPMENT. THE PROPOSED PHYSICAL YEAR 27 BUDGET INCLUDES FUNDING FOR THE GOLF COURSE, UPGRADES, AFFORDABLE HOUSING, AND THE GULF COAST MUSEUM EXPANSION PROJECT. IT ALSO PROVIDES FUNDING FOR NEW INITIATIVES AIMED AT IMPROVING THE COMMUNITY. SO YOU CAN SEE AFFORDABLE HOUSING 930,000 GULF COAST MUSEUM EXPANSION PROJECT. 1 MILLION NEW PROJECTS UNDER THE FOUR B, UM, IS 1 MILLION FOR A TOTAL ALLOCATION OF 2,930,000. THIS IS A VISUAL PIE CHART OF THE FOLDABLE HOUSING SHOWING THAT IT'S 30% OF THE LINE ITEM BUDGET AND THE MUSEUM UPGRADE IS 34% OF THE LINE ITEM BUDGET. AND NEW PROJECTS IS ALSO 34% OF THE LINE ITEM BUDGET FOR A DEVELOPMENT. WHAT IS ALSO WHAT THE EDC IS ALL ABOUT? ONE MOMENT, I'M SORRY. THIS BUDGET INCLUDES $2,254,339 IN FUNDING FOR EXISTING INCENTIVES AGREEMENTS TO MEET OBLIGATIONS COMMITTED IN PRIOR YEARS. THE BUDGET INCLUDES FUNDING OF 1.5 MILLION FOR NEW ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT INCENTIVES TO SUPPORT BUSINESS ATTRACTION, BUSINESS EXPANSION, AND INVESTMENTS THAT WILL STRENGTHEN THE LOCAL ECONOMY AND INCREASE THE AREA'S TAX BASE. THE TOTAL ALLOCATION FOR FOUR A DEVELOPMENT, AGAIN IS $3,754,339. THE BUSINESS PARK ALLOCATION PROVIDES FUNDING FOR THE ONGOING MAINTENANCE OF THE BUSINESS, THE BUSINESS PARK, INCLUDING SECURITY GUARD SERVICES, LANDSCAPING, MOS OF RECREATIONAL AREAS, TRACTOR MOS SERVICES, AND BUDGETED REPAIRS AS NEEDED. WORKFORCE AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT, THE FUNDING OF 681,000 IS PROVIDED TO SUPPORT EXISTING WORKFORCE PROGRAMS, COMMITMENTS THAT SPAN MULTIPLE PHYSICAL YEARS AND FULFILL PREVIOUSLY COMMITTED OBLIGATIONS AT THE TIME. OUR EXISTING WORKFORCE PROGRAM THAT WE'RE ACTUALLY BUDGETING FOR FOR THE UPCOMING YEAR IS TRAINING OF COMMERCIAL DRIVER'S LICENSE CDL PROGRAM, $100,000 TRADE PROGRAM TUITION ASSISTANCE, 90,000 UPWARD MOBILITY HEALTHCARE NURSING, 140,000 INDUSTRIAL SKILLS TRAINING, 180,000 CERTIFIED NURSING ASSISTANT PROGRAM, 15,000 MARITIME AND SHIP BUILDING, 75,000 WELDING PROGRAM, 81,000. AGAIN, THAT TOTAL ALLOCATION IS 681,000. THE BUDGET ALLOCATIONS IN AREAS OF, OKAY, I'M SORRY. THIS IS JUST A PIE CHART OF THE EXISTING WORKFORCE PROGRAM. JUST TO SHOW YOU THE BREAKDOWN AND WHERE THE MAJORITY OF THE TRAINING FUNDS ARE GOING, UH, WHICH IS THE INDUSTRIAL SKILLS TRAINING, BUDGET ALLOCATION, AND AREAS OF EMPHASIS. CORE OPERATIONS ARE 13.7% OF THE TOTAL BUDGET, WHICH CONSIST OF CORE ADMINISTRATIVE AND OVERHEAD COST, PAYROLL AND CITY ADMINISTRATIVE FEES. ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS ARE 70.56% OF THE TOTAL BUDGET AND CONSISTS OF FOUR A INCENTIVES, FOUR [00:20:01] B INCENTIVES, BUSINESS RETENTION AND EXPANSION PROGRAMS, ENTREPRENEURSHIP PROGRAM MARKETING AND BUSINESS ATTRACTION PROGRAMS, WORKFORCE AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS, THE MICRO LOAN PROGRAM, CITY OF PORT ARTHUR PARKS AND RECREATIONAL INCENTIVE, AND THE BABE SARI GOLF COURSE FOR THE INCENTIVE. THE PROPERTY AND BUSINESS PARK OPERATIONS ACCOUNT FOR 10.58% OF THE TOTAL BUDGET AND CONSISTS OF 501, UH, CONSISTS OF 5 0 1 PROCTOR, THE PRESS BUILDING AND THE BUSINESS PARK DEBT AND OTHER OBLIGATIONS ARE 1.45% OF THE TOTAL BUDGET AND CONSIST OF DEBT SERVICE AND THE GENERAL LIABILITY FUND. AS YOU CAN SEE, THE PROPOSED BUDGET FOR THE PORT ARTHUR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION SUPPORTS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND ENHANCES QUALITY OF LIFE BY INVESTING IN THE SERVICES INFRASTRUCTURE AND INITIATIVES THAT HELPS CREATE A STRONG, VIBRANT AND THRIVING COMMUNITY BUDGET SUMMARY. IN CLOSING, THIS PROPOSED BUDGET REFLECTS CONTINUAL COMMITMENTS TO RESPONSIBLE FINANCIAL STEWARDSHIP, OPERATIONAL STABILITY, AND STRATEGIC INVESTMENT IN THE COMMUNITY. THE ALLOCATIONS PRESENTED PROVIDES FUNDING FOR ESSENTIAL OPERATIONS, FULFILL COMMITTED OBLIGATION AND SUPPORT INITIATIVES THAT PROMOTE FUTURE GROWTH AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT THROUGH, THROUGH THOUGHTFUL PLANNING AND PRIORITIZATION OF RESOURCES. THIS BUDGET ENSURES THE ORGANIZATION CAN MEET CURRENT RESPONSIBILITIES WHILE INVESTING IN OPPORTUNITIES THAT STRENGTHEN THE TAX BASE AND SUPPORT LONG-TERM FINANCIAL SUSTAINABILITY. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME AND CONSIDERATION. I WELCOME YOUR QUESTIONS AND DISCUSSIONS. A FEW LIKE MAYOR PRO TEM KINLAW. THANK YOU MAYOR. UH, THANK YOU, UH, RACHEL FOR YOUR PRESENTATION. LET'S GO BACK TO, UH, LET'S SEE. I WANT TO ASK YOU QUESTIONS ABOUT THE LOANS THAT WE ACTUALLY GIVE OUT. LET ME, I MARKED IT, UH, I THINK THIS IS PAGE NINE, AND YOUR FINANCIAL COMMITMENTS AND TRANSFERS. NOW IT'S MY UNDERSTANDING, AND I'VE SAID THIS BEFORE, UM, THAT, UH, I THINK THAT MOM AND POP STORY IS THE WAY THAT WE IMPROVE OUR COMMUNITIES AS TO BACKBONE AND CORNER STONES OF YOUR COMMUNITY TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY ARE FINANCIAL AND ABLE TO GET THIS FINANCE, UH, FROM EDC BASED EVID, IF IT'S A OR B WHATEVER. YES. BUT MY THING IS THIS, HOW DO YOU ACCOUNT FOR THAT, UH, APPLICATION PROCESS? IS THAT UNDER MICROLOAN PROGRAM? MY THING IS THIS, BECAUSE I GET A LOT OF CALL ALL MY COHORTS UP HERE. WE GET THESE CALLS ABOUT, HEY, I'VE ALREADY, I APPLIED AT THE EDC, I HADN'T GOT ANYWHERE BACK, OR MAYBE I WAS DENIED WHATEVER IT IS, BUT WHAT IS THE PROCESS AND HOW DO YOU ACCOUNT FOR THAT? THAT'S NUMBER ONE. AND THEN I WANNA TALK ABOUT THE GOLF COURSE UPGRADES TO OKAY. UM, AS FAR AS THE MICROLOAN PROGRAM, THE MICROLOAN PROGRAM KINDA CATCHES EVERYONE THAT DOESN'T FALL INTO YOUR NORMAL FOUR A FOUR B, CORRECT? THAT'S MY QUESTION. SO THE APPLICANT COME IN AND FILL OUT AN APPLICATION. WE DO VISIT WITH EACH APPLICANT TO LET THEM KNOW EXACTLY WHAT THOSE CRITERIA ARE. UH, WE DO RUN INTO SOME ISSUES SOMETIMES WITH, UM, NOT HAVING THE CORRECT FINANCIAL DOCUMENTATION OR THEY, THERE IS CRITERIA THAT THEY HAVE TO MEET AS FAR AS, UH, DEBT SERVICE, THEIR CREDIT SCORES, UM, ALL THE INFORMATION THAT THEY HAVE. AND IT IS A REGULAR LOAN PROCESS. IT'S JUST ACTUALLY WE HAVE MORE, I GUESS, UH, FLAVORABLE INTEREST RATES IN TERMS, AND WE'RE NOT AS STRICT AS THE BANK. UM, MOST PEOPLE THAT COME TO US COME TO US BECAUSE THEY CAN'T GET FINANCING THROUGH YOUR TRADITIONAL BANKING SOURCE. UM, THEY'RE, I, WE ARE ACTUALLY TRYING TO REVAMP THAT. NOW. WE'RE IN THE PROCESS OF REVAMPING OUR MICROLOAN OVER THE YEARS. UH, I THINK IT STARTED, WE STARTED THE MICROLOAN ABOUT IN 2016, I THINK MAYBE 15, 16. AND OVER THOSE YEARS, WE HAVE TAKEN INTO CONSIDERATION THE ISSUES OR THE OBSTACLES THAT COME OUR WAY WITH THESE APPLICANTS. SO WE'RE CURRENTLY TRYING TO REVAMP THE PROGRAM TO MAKE IT A LITTLE BIT MORE EASIER FOR THE APPLICANT TO GO THROUGH AND TRYING TO SEE WHAT WE CAN DO TO ASSIST THE COMMUNITY IN GETTING THE FUNDS THAT THEY NEED TO SUCCEED. OKAY. UH, THANK YOU. BUT JUST TO SAVE JUST 50,000, YOU KNOW, THAT LETS ME KNOW NOT A LOT OF PEOPLE IS ACTUALLY GETTING, GETTING THAT OPPORTUNITY TO BE [00:25:01] A BUSINESS OWNER. SO I REALLY WOULD, I'M VERY MUCH INTERESTED IN THAT. UH, I'VE SAID THAT IN THE PAST. I FEEL THAT, LIKE I SAID, MOM AND POP STORES OR BUSINESSES LIKE THAT, THAT WANT TO COME DOWNTOWN AND DEVELOP, YOU KNOW, OUR EDC IS HERE TO DEVELOP THAT AND TO HELP THEM DEVELOP THAT. AND I KNOW WE HAVE CRITERIA, UH, JUST LIKE YOU STATED, YOU KNOW, CREDIT SCORES AND ALL THE BUSINESS EXPERIENCE AND ALL THAT GOOD STUFF, BUT THE TRADITIONAL WAY, THEY'RE, THEY'RE NOT ABLE TO GET THAT. HOW ARE WE GONNA MAKE SURE THAT THEY'RE IN LINE OR HAVE THE ABILITY TO GET THOSE TYPE OF LOANS? THAT'S NUMBER ONE. WE DO HAVE TO WORK WITH THE SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT, UM, DOWNTOWN, WHENEVER THEY DON'T HAVE THE BUSINESS PLAN OR THEY DON'T HAVE TO QUITE HAVE ALL THE FINANCIAL OR DON'T UNDERSTAND EVERYTHING THAT THEY NEED TO COME TO US. SOMETIMES THEY COME IN BEFORE THEY'RE READY, BUT WE DO SEND 'EM DOWN TO THE SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CENTER AND THEY WORK WITH THEM AND GET THEM READY TO COME IN FOR THAT APPLICATION PROCESS. NOW THEY JUST HAVE TO COME BACK TO US. THAT'S, YOU KNOW, AND WE'LL WORK WITH THEM, YOU KNOW, ARE WE OFFERING ANY TYPE OF CLASSES TO HELP OUT, UH, TO DEVELOP THEIR SKILLS, TO GET THEIR KNOWLEDGE BASE? ARE WE DOING ANYTHING LIKE THAT WITH DDC? YES, SIR. SO THE BUDGET THAT WE HAVE RIGHT NOW FOR ENTREPRENEURSHIP PROGRAMS IS TO HELP DEVELOP THOSE SMALL BUSINESSES AND ENTREPRENEURS. OKAY. SO WE ARE, THIS COMING YEAR, WE, WE'VE GOT A, UM, ENTREPRENEURSHIP MANAGER AS WELL AS IN OUR, IN OUR BUDGET TO FILL. UM, SO HOPEFULLY WE'LL BE ABLE TO START OFFERING WORKSHOPS AND CLASSES FOR THESE SMALL BUSINESSES AND ENTREPRENEURS. OKAY. ALRIGHT. THANK YOU. C UH, CEO. NOW, MY NEXT QUESTION, MAYBE YOU CAN ANSWER THIS, THE GOLF COURSE UPGRADES TWO MIL, 2.3. I'M HORRIBLE IN GOLF, I'M GONNA BE HONEST WITH YOU, BUT IT'S A GAME AND I'M UNDER, YOU KNOW, I KNOW YOU GUYS HAVE A BOARD THAT YOU'RE RESPONSIBLE FOR, BUT DO YOU HAVE A LIST OF THINGS THAT YOU COULD PLAN ON DOING WITH UPGRADES? BECAUSE, UH, THAT'S, THAT'S THEIR JOB. IT'S SORT OF LIKE A ENTERPRISE FUND. THEY'RE MAKING MONEY AND THEN THEY PAYING A CERTAIN FEE TO THE CITY. SO DO YOU HAVE LIKE A LIST THAT THE PEOPLE THAT'S OUT HERE CAN SEE? OR, YOU KNOW, BECAUSE THAT'S A LOT OF MONEY THAT WE ARE INVESTING ON A GAME AND I LOVE GOLF. UM, DON'T GET ME WRONG, AND I'M ON THE GOLF COMMITTEE. I, I THINK THE MAYOR IS AS WELL, AND, UH, COUNCILMAN FRANK, BUT NOPE, THE MAYOR'S NOT, YOU'RE NOT ON THE GOLF COMMITTEE . NO. SO, BUT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT $2.3 MILLION WHERE THAT, I'M LOOKING AT 50,000. YOU KNOW, I, I JUST DON'T UNDERSTAND HOW WE ARE GAUGING AND HOW WE ARE, YOU KNOW, OR YOU, YOUR, YOUR BOARD IS DOING THAT. UH, WE TRY TO STAY OUTTA YOUR BOARD'S BUSINESS, BUT WE HOPE THAT THEY'RE MAKING THE BEST DECISION FOR THE ENTIRE CITY. BUT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT 2.3 FOR A GAME, AND I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW WHAT TYPE OF UPGRADES AND IF IN THE LONG RUN, WILL THEY BENEFIT PORT ARTHUR? WILL THEY, THEY COME BACK TO PORT ARTHUR CITIZENS? CAN SOMEONE ANSWER THAT? SURE. SO, UM, LET ME BACK UP A LITTLE BIT. JUST TO BE CLEAR. THE $50,000 THAT IS IN THE MICROLOAN PROGRAM, THAT IS STRICTLY FOR MICROLOAN MICROLOAN, UM, WE ARE, SO YOU'RE AWARE WE ARE WORKING THIS YEAR AS WELL TO GO BACK TO THE VOTERS TO ALLOW US TO USE SOME OF THE FOUR B FUNDS, RIGHT? THAT THAT WAS YEAH. IN THE BUDGET AS WELL, INCLUDING THE $1 MILLION FOR NEW INCENTIVES TO BE ABLE TO HELP THE MOM AND POPS. YES. AND THE SMALLER BUSINESSES. SO THAT IS DIFFERENT FROM THE MICROLOAN. THOSE WILL BE MORE OF, UM, INCENTIVES TOWARDS THEIR FACADE AND SITE IMPROVEMENT FOR THEIR BUILDINGS AND, AND JUST GETTING THEIR BUSINESSES UP AND RUNNING. SO THAT'LL BE A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT. WE TALKED ABOUT THAT DURING OUR LAST WORKSHOP, BEING ABLE TO DO MORE FOR THE SMALL BUSINESSES. RIGHT. SO APART FROM THE 50,000 MICRO LOAN, UH, IT IS A LITTLE BIT MORE STRENUOUS. WE HAVEN'T HAD A LOT OF USE OUT OF IT IN THE PAST, WHICH IS WHY WE'VE WE KEEPING IT AT THAT AMOUNT RIGHT NOW. IF ONCE WE IT DOES BUILD UP, THEN WE WILL INCREASE THAT. BUT WE ARE LOOKING TO USE SOME OF THE FOUR B INCENTIVE FUNDS THAT'S IN THE BUDGET FOR SMALL INCENTIVES AND GRANTS FOR THOSE SMALL BUSINESSES. UM, GOING TO THE GOLF COURSE WITH THOSE FOUR, WITH THE FOUR B PROPOSITION THAT YOU ALL WENT TO THE VOTERS WITH IN NOVEMBER AND, AND WAS PASSED, UH, FORTUNATELY WE'RE ABLE TO DO NOW QUALITY OF LIFE PROJECTS. SO THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS VIEWED THIS PROJECT AS A QUALITY OF LIFE PROJECT. IT IS ONE OF THE MAIN ATTRACTIONS THAT PORT ARTHUR HAS THAT BRINGS PEOPLE TO OUR CITY. IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE WANT TO UPKEEP RIGHT NOW, MY UNDERSTANDING AND, AND I ALSO DON'T PLAY GOLF, SO, YOU KNOW, I I I'M NOT OUT THERE ENOUGH, BUT IT, THE, THE IRRIGATION SYSTEM HAS TO BE REPLACED OUT THERE. UM, IT, IT IS DETERRING PEOPLE FROM COMING TO PLAY IN PORT ARTHUR. THEY'RE GOING TO OTHER CITIES TO PLAY BECAUSE THE GROUND IS JUST TOO DRY. IT'S NOT PLAYABLE FROM MY UNDERSTANDING. UH, WE ARE ALSO PART OF THAT FUNDING AND, AND, AND I'LL ASK CITY MANAGER TO ELABORATE MORE ON IT, BUT PART OF THAT FUNDING IS FOR THE IRRIGATION SYSTEM UPGRADES [00:30:01] AS WELL AS, UM, INCORPORATING A TEACHING FACILITY SO THAT STUDENTS FROM MEMORIAL HIGH SCHOOL AND SURROUNDING AREAS CAN COME AND LEARN THE GAME AS WELL AS UPGRADES TO THEIR KITCHEN AND, UH, RESTROOM FACILITIES. I KNOW THE CITY HAS MORE UPGRADES PLANNED FOR THE GOLF COURSE, BUT, UH, THAT IS THE PORTION THAT THE EDC HAS CONSIDERED, UH, INVESTING IN. OKAY. WELL, I MEAN, I I, I KNOW SINCE I'VE BEEN ON COUNCIL, WE, WE DID OUR PART, WE REPLACED TWO BRIDGES OUT THERE. WE DID CONCRETE WORK OUT THERE. UH, WE DID SOME IRRIGATION OUT THERE BEFORE. SINCE I'VE BEEN ON COUNCIL, I'M ON A, I'M ON A COMMITTEE. I JUST WANT TO KNOW, YOU KNOW, IF, IF THAT'S GONNA BE THE INVESTMENT THAT WE'RE GONNA PUT INTO THE GOLF COURSE, WHAT TYPE OF RETURN ARE WE GONNA GET FROM THAT? AND I NEED SOMEBODY TO ANSWER THAT PART OF, YOU KNOW, I DON'T MIND IF WE GONNA GET SOME TYPE OF RETURN. AND I KNOW YOUR BOARD MADE THAT, THAT DETERMINATION AND THE, THE QUALITY OF LIFE. BUT, YOU KNOW, IF, HAVE WE DONE NUMBERS OF HOW MANY PEOPLE ACTUALLY FROM PORT ARTHUR PLAY? I MEAN, I UNDERSTAND THE SURROUNDING, BUT I'M TALKING ABOUT PORT ARTHUR, YOU KNOW, AND THAT'S, I THINK SOMETIMES WE KIND OF, WE WE'RE A TUNNEL VISION WHEN WE WANT TO HELP OTHERS, BUT WE NEED TO BE HELPING OURSELVES BECAUSE IF WE HAD THAT MANY TYPE OF, UH, UH, STUDENTS OR COMMUNITY MEMBERS THAT PLAY GOLF FROM PORT ARTHUR, YOU WOULDN'T HAVE THIS TYPE OF QUESTIONING FOR ME. BUT I KNOW I LIVE RIGHT THERE. I LIVE BY THERE AND I JUST KNOW THAT IT'S ALWAYS PACKED. IT'S A LOT OF CARS. AND, AND I THINK MOST OF THOSE CARS AND, AND BUSES THAT I SEE FROM OTHER SCHOOLS. SO MY THING IS, WHAT ARE YOU GONNA DO? WHAT ARE WE GONNA DO TO ENSURE THAT THE RETURN OF THAT INVESTMENT BACK TO PORT ARTHUR? AND I DON'T KNOW IF WE'VE, I, I'VE NOTICED ON YOUR PRESENTATION, WHICH I THINK IS A GREAT PRESENTATION FORMAT, BUT I DON'T SEE THAT WE HAVE A NOUN, UH, NOUN, UH, THEN AND FORMAT WHERE THAT LAST BUDGET COMPARED TO THIS BUDGET. SO I'M GONNA GET WITH YOU GUYS ABOUT THAT ON NEXT TIME WHEN YOU PRESENT. BUT IF WE CAN GET TO ANSWER MY QUESTION, IF WE CAN GET A RETURN BASED UPON INVESTMENT, YOU KNOW, I'M ALL EARS ABOUT THAT. SO IF SOMEBODY CAN ANSWER THAT FOR ME, YES SIR. I DID NOT BRING ANY OF THE, UH, FILE WORK FOR THAT PARTICULAR PROJECT. OKAY. BUT I COULD DEFINITELY SHARE THE ECONOMIC IMPACT ANALYSIS THAT'S FOR THAT PROJECT AND WHAT IT'LL DO FOR THE COMMUNITY. OKAY. AND CHRIS, SO LET ME ASK, UM, THAT PRESENTATION CAME FROM THE CITY. AM I? YES, MA'AM. SO THE PRESENTATION THAT YOU GOT FOR THIS PROPOSED MONEY FOR THIS, UM, TO BUILD, UH, OR TO, UH, GET THIS MONEY FROM THE EDC CAME FROM OUR CITY MANAGER. CORRECT. SO WE ARE PROPOSING TO MAKE THOSE CHANGES. SO MAYBE THE CITY MANAGER CAN GIVE US SOME INSIGHT ON WHAT WE'RE ASKING. CITY MANAGER, CAN YOU, UH, ENLIGHTEN US? THANK YOU. SHOW MAYOR. NO, NO, NO. . LET ME PUT IN THAT DISCLAIMER. HE WENT, I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT THE PART IS, . SO, UM, THE CITY MANAGER, A CITY MANAGER HAVE WORKED VERY CLOSELY WITH, UM, THE CHAIRMAN, BOTH CHAIRMANS OF THE, UM, THE EDC BOARD. UM, I KNOW THAT, UM, CHAIRMAN ANDERSON WAS ONE OF THE, UM, UM, ADVOCATES FOR THE TRAINING FACILITY THAT IS NEEDED FOR THE, THAT WE COULD UTILIZE FOR THE TRAINING OF FUTURE GOLFERS FOR THE CITY OF PORT ARTHUR SCHOOL DISTRICT OUT THERE, SINCE HE'S AN AVID GOLFER. UM, AND ALSO, UM, WE WORK VERY CLOSELY WITH, UM, THE CHAIRMAN, UM, MORRIS ALBRIGHT. UM, ON, ON, ON THAT ASPECT OF IT, UM, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT, UM, THE PRESENT MANAGEMENT BROUGHT TO OUR ATTENTION, AND I VISITED IT AS THE JUST ABOMINABLE CONDITION OF THE BATHROOMS AND THE KITCHEN OUT THERE, YOU KNOW, WHICH SERIOUSLY NEEDED UPGRADED, YOU KNOW, AND, UM, THOSE ARE TWO PROJECTS THAT ARE CONSIDERED UNDER THE $2.3 MILLION THAT'S BEEN CONSIDERED APART FROM THE TRADING FACILITY, THE EXISTING IRRIGATION SYSTEM, WHICH IS TOTALLY DIFFERENT FROM THE EM, UM, FROM THE DRAINAGE IMPROVEMENTS THAT WE HAVE DONE. THE DRAINAGE, REMEMBER THE DRAINAGE IMPROVEMENTS THAT WE HAVE DONE IS BEING TOTALLY FUNDED FOR FEMA, UM, AS PART OF THE $40 MILLION, UM, PROJECT THAT WE CONTINUE TO UNDERTAKE OUT THERE, WHICH WILL CLOSE SOMETIME THIS YEAR OR, UM, IN OUR NEXT, UM, BUDGET. UM, AS A RESULT OF THE FEMA PROJECT, YOU HAVE SEEN CERTAIN UPGRADES BEING MADE OUT, UM, AT THE GOLF COURSE AS A DETENTION AND RETENTION SITE FOR WATER, UM, UM, RAIN WATER THAT'S COMING FROM THE ADJOINING SUBDIVISIONS. UM, THOSE FACILITIES WERE BEING, UM, ENHANCED CREATED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE COULD UTILIZE THEM AS PART OF THE GOLF COURSE. HOWEVER, THE EXISTING IRRIGATION SYSTEM IN THE GOLF COURSE, UM, APPARENTLY HAS NOT BEEN UPGRADED SINCE THE GOLF COURSE WAS ESTABLISHED. AND I DON'T [00:35:01] EVEN HAVE THAT DATE, MAYBE 30, 40 YEARS AGO. UM, AND SO THE JUSTIFICATION THAT'S BEING USED IN ORDER TO ATTRACT AS A CITY ASSET, YOU KNOW, IN ORDER TO ATTRACT PREMIER, UM, GOLFING, UM, TOURNAMENTS TO THE, TO THE CITY OF PORT ARTHUR, IT WOULD BE IMPORTANT THAT WE UPGRADED AND WE COULD SEE THE RESULTS AS WE CONTINUE TO DO THE ECONOMIC IMPACT ANALYSIS IN HOT TAX IN THE HOTEL, MOTEL TAXI, UM, MANY OF WHICH ARE WITHIN A MILE RADIUS, UM, OF THE GULF COURSE AS WELL AS THE SALES TAX THAT WILL CONTINUE TO GENERATE, UM, FROM THOSE EVENTS. UM, JUST ONE EXAMPLE HERE OVER THE LAST WEEKEND, YOU KNOW, I GOT A CALL, UM, YOU KNOW, THAT THERE WAS ONE DUMPSTER THAT, YOU KNOW, IT WAS JUST OVERFLOWING OF GARBAGE AND THAT WAS A RESULT OF JUST ONE DAY ACTIVITY. NORMALLY WE EMPTY OUT THE GARBAGE AND WE REPAIR US FOR, WE, WE PROVIDE THEM SERVICES FOR TRASH AND GARBAGE COLLECTION THREE TIMES A WEEK, AND WE HAD TO MAKE SURE THAT WE HAD TO GO BACK THERE TWICE. APART FROM THAT, SO IT SHOWS THAT THERE IS A CONTINUED INTEREST TO UTILIZE A CITY ASSET, WHICH WILL HAVE A MULTIPLIER EFFECT NOT ONLY ON, UM, ON THE GOLF COURSE, BUT UM, AS WELL AS SALES TAX AND AS WELL AS HOT, HOT TAX THAT THE HOTEL AND MOTEL, UM, UM, PROPERTY ORDERS WILL CONTINUE TO EXPERIENCE. UM, SO AS I INDICATED, WE, WE SEE IT AS AN ASSET AND HOPEFULLY AS A SOUND FOUR B PROJECT, WE WILL CONTINUE TO REAP THE BENEFITS FOR YEARS TO COME AS WE CONTINUE TO TRAIN OUR STUDENTS OUT THERE AND ATTRACT STUDENTS FROM SURROUNDING AREAS, UM, TO BECOME PROFESSIONAL GOLFERS AS WELL, WHICH WILL CONTINUE TO ADD TO THE QUALITY OF LIFE FOR THE CITIZENS OF PORT ARTHUR. OKAY. UM, OKAY. THANK YOU ALL. UH, COUNCIL MEMBER JACOBS? YES, MA'AM. THANK YOU, MAYOR. UM, GOOD MORNING. UM, I HAVE A SIMILAR KIND OF SET OF QUESTIONS, SO I GUESS I CAN SKIP OVER THE GOLF COURSE ONE, 'CAUSE I THINK WE'VE KIND OF, KIND OF TOUCHED ON THAT WELL ENOUGH. UM, BUT MY QUESTIONS ARE IN REFERENCE TO THE OTHER TWO LARGE ALLOCATIONS, THE $930,000 ALLOCATION FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING, AS WELL AS THE $1 MILLION ALLOCATION FOR NEW PROJECTS. CAN YOU SHARE SOME OF THE DETAILS OF WHAT THOSE TWO ENTAIL? I'M LOOKING AT PAGE 15 WHEN I REFERENCED THOSE, BUT YEAH, IN THAT SECTION FOR THIS SECTION. SO BOTH OF THOSE PROJECTS ARE ALSO OUR NEW FOUR B FUNDING THAT WE'RE ABLE TO DO. UM, THEY HAVE NOT COME BEFORE YOU YET BECAUSE OUR BOARD JUST APPROVED THOSE. SO WE DO HAVE TO ALLOCATE THOSE FUNDS AND THAT'S WHY YOU SEE IT IN THE BUDGET TODAY, SO THAT WE CAN CARRY THOSE FUNDS OVER IF AND WHEN THEY'RE APPROVED BY YOU ALL, UM, LATER THIS MONTH OR THE BEGINNING OF OCTOBER. SO THE 900 AND PAGE IN FRONT OF, IT'S A DIFFERENT COLUMN. THAT PARTICULAR AMOUNT COVERS TWO AFFORDABLE HOUSING PROJECTS. ONE IS TO REVIVE OUR DOWN PAYMENT ASSISTANCE PROGRAM THAT WE HAD IN THE PAST. WE'RE BRINGING THAT BACK TO LIFE TO, UH, BRING MORE ROOFTOPS DOWNTOWN. SO THE, THE BOARD DID DECIDE, INSTEAD OF DOING, UM, I BELIEVE IT WAS A HUNDRED, RACHEL, WE'RE GOING WITH 20 HOUSES FOR THE FIRST YEAR. AND THAT IS WHAT WILL BE COMING FOR YOU ALL TO APPROVE. SO PART OF THAT 930,000 IS FOR THE DOWN PAYMENT ASSISTANCE PROGRAM TO HELP HOMEOWNERS GET ROOFTOPS DOWNTOWN. UH, THE OTHER PORTION OF THAT 930,000 IS ALSO ANOTHER AFFORDABLE HOUSING PROGRAM THAT IS FOR INFRASTRUCTURE AT THE, UH, GIFFORD POND DIVISION DOWN THE STREET FROM US, UM, RIGHT OFF OF PROCTOR STREET. SO WE WILL BE, UM, INVESTING IN THE INSTALLATION OF INFRASTRUCTURE THERE, THE UPGRADES TO THE INFRASTRUCTURE TO ALLOW NEW HOMES TO COME INTO THAT SUBDIVISION. AND THEY WILL HAVE TO BE AFFORDABLE HOUSING HOMES. THAT IS PART OF, UH, THE FUNDING. THEY, THEY MUST QUALIFY AS AFFORDABLE HOUSING FOR, FOR THEM TO BE ABLE TO ASK FOR REIMBURSEMENT ON THE INFRASTRUCTURE FOR THAT. IS THE INTENT FOR, UH, LEGACY TO LEAD ON BOTH OF THOSE, BOTH THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING PROJECTS? UH, THE ONE FOR THE INFRASTRUCTURE AT GIFFORD POND IS LEGACY AS THE APPLICANT. THE, UH, AFFORDABLE HOUSING HOMEOWNERS DOWN PAYMENT ASSISTANCE PROGRAM. THAT ONE HAS NOT BEEN, UH, ALLOCATED YET. WE ARE CURRENTLY SEARCHING FOR A, UH, CHODO COMMUNITY HOUSING AND DEVELOPMENT ORGANIZATION TO ADMINISTER THAT, THOSE FUNDS. OKAY. AND THEN THE SECOND PIECE, THE NEW PROJECTS, SO THAT ONE IS JUST KIND OF A BROAD NET, THAT'S JUST [00:40:01] KIND OF LIKE A PLUG NUMBER, I'M ASSUMING? YES. YES, MA'AM. WE, WE ARE PLANNING, UH, WE PUT $1 MILLION UNDER FOUR B FOR NEW PROJECTS. SO THAT IS ANYTHING THAT COMES UP IN THIS UPCOMING YEAR, ANY NEW APPLICATIONS. OKAY. SO, UM, I GUESS MY NEXT QUESTION IS KIND OF TWO-PRONGED AND I DON'T KNOW WHICH ONE COMES FIRST. SO DO, DOES THE EDC STILL HAVE A BUSINESS ATTRACTION, RETENTION AND EXPANSION MANAGER? IS THAT STILL A ROLE THAT IS AT THE A DC? IT IS ACTUALLY BACK IN THIS BUDGET, YES. OKAY. UM, IT WAS TAKEN OUT OF LAST YEAR'S BUDGET AND, UH, WE'VE PUT IT BACK IN THE BOARD HAS APPROVED TO PUT THAT POSITION BACK IN PLACE. OKAY. AND SO ASSUMING THIS PERSON WILL BE RESPONSIBLE, SIMILAR TO THE LAST, UH, PERSON WHO HELD THE ROLE FOR, UM, STRUCTURING RIGHT THEN THE VARIOUS INCENTIVE PROGRAMS THAT THE EDC OFFERS? YES. THERE MAY BE SOME TWEAKS TO THE PROGRAMS. UM, I BELIEVE THE WAY THEY WERE STRUCTURED PREVIOUSLY, THEY, IT STANDS PRETTY STRONG. OKAY. SO WE'RE GONNA KEEP THAT THE WAY IT'S, IT'S GOING, THERE MAY BE SOME TWEAKS AS WITH EVERYTHING, YOU KNOW, WE, YOU KNOW, LEARN FROM IT AND MAKE IT BETTER. UM, BUT THAT PERSON WILL BE RESPONSIBLE FOR ADMINISTERING AND TAKING THOSE APPLICATIONS IN AND FOCUSING ON RETAINING OUR BUSINESSES AND EXPANDING THEM HERE LOCALLY. OKAY. AND, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER PRO TEM, THAT MIGHT KIND OF ANSWER PART OF YOUR QUESTION ABOUT THE MOM AND POP, UH, TYPE BUSINESSES BECAUSE THERE WERE PREVIOUSLY WITH LIKE THREE DIFFERENT TIERS OF, UH, OF PROJECT KIND OF CRITERIA, IF YOU WILL. AND SO YOU HAD 'EM FROM THE VERY LARGE, UM, INDUSTRIAL COMPANIES DOWN TO SOME OF THE SMALLER LOCAL KIND OF HOMEGROWN COMPANIES, IF YOU WILL. AND SO MY REQUEST WITH THAT, KIND OF NOW BEING ARMED WITH THAT KNOWLEDGE IS MY SECOND QUESTION, WHICH IS THE PRIORITIZATION, RIGHT? SO WE PASSED, UM, YOU KNOW, THE VOTERS VOTED ON THIS, UM, FOR FOUR B PROJECTS TO, UH, FOR THE EDC TO HAVE THE, THE ABILITY AND CAPACITY TO SUPPORT FOUR B PROJECTS AS A FOUR A, ED, C. SO MY QUES, IT'S A QUESTIONNAIRE REQUEST AT THE SAME TIME FOR THE PRIORITIZATION OF THOSE PROJECTS, HOW DO WE PRIORITIZE THIS TIME AROUND AND WHAT IS THE PLAN FOR PRIORITIZATION OF PROJECTS MOVING FORWARD? WE CAN DEFINITELY WORK ON THAT AND GET THAT FOR YOU. OKAY. BECAUSE I THINK THAT'S GONNA BE PARAMOUNT WHEN WE LOOK AT, UM, LET'S SEE, IF I SEE WHAT PAGE I WAS ON, IT LOOKS LIKE WE HAD ABOUT 20, I MEAN, CLOSE TO 3 MILLION ALLOCATED TO FOUR B PROJECTS. AND I WANNA SAY THE FOUR A PROJECTS JUST CAME JUST AHEAD OF THAT. SO IT'S ALMOST A PROBABLY 50 50 OR 55 45 SPLIT. WHEN, WHEN, IN TERMS OF, UH, MONIES THAT ARE GONNA BE ALLOCATED TO FOUR A VERSUS FOUR B, I THINK THAT, UM, IT WOULD BE IN THE BEST INTEREST OF THE EDC, BUT ALSO IT WOULD BENEFIT US TO UNDERSTAND THE LENS THROUGH WHICH THE EDC IS OPERATING. HOW ARE WE RECEIVING INFORMATION ABOUT PROJECTS THAT, UM, WE COULD POTENTIALLY SUPPORT? AND THEN HOW ARE YOU ACTUALLY PRIORITIZING THOSE? AND THAT KIND OF GOES IN LINE WITH THE SAME QUESTION THAT, UH, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER PRO TEM HAD IN REGARDS TO GOLF. I LOVE BABES HARRIS, UH, GOLF COURSE. I LIVE RIGHT BY THERE. I AGREE IT NEEDS A LOT OF WORK AND A LOT OF HELP, BUT ALSO, UM, WANNA MAKE SURE THAT AS WE MOVE FORWARD RIGHT WITH THIS, WITH THIS KIND OF NEW, UH, STRUCTURE FOR THE WAY THAT OUR EDC OPERATES, THAT WE ARE TRULY MAKING THAT TYPE OF FUNDING AVAILABLE TO EVERYONE AND NOT JUST CERTAIN, UH, BUSINESSES, CERTAIN GROUPS, CERTAIN PORT ARTHURS, IT NEEDS TO BENEFIT PORT ARTHUR FIRST. UM, AND SO I STAND 10 TOES DOWN IN SAYING THAT, UM, BECAUSE AS YOU KNOW, A FORMER MEMBER OF THE EDCI FULLY UNDERSTAND HOW THE CORPORATION OPERATES. UM, AND I'M ALL FOR IMPROVING OUR QUALITY OF LIFE. I THINK WE CAN ALL AGREE THAT THE QUALITY OF LIFE IN PORT ARTHUR CAN STAND SOME IMPROVEMENT, BUT, UM, I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT THERE IS FAIRNESS EMPLOYED AS WELL AS A A, A SET FORMALIZED DOCUMENTED METHODOLOGY BY WHICH WE ARE RECEIVING THESE PROJECTS AND PRIORITIZING THE WORK. SURE, YES MA'AM. UH, WE CAN DEFINITELY PUT THAT TOGETHER AND GET THOSE PRIORITIES OVER TO YOU AS WELL AS HOW WE INTEND TO USE THOSE FUNDS AND ADMINISTER THEM. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. UH, COUNCIL MEMBER, FRANK. THANK YOU, MAYOR. GOOD MORNING. GOOD MORNING FOR THE BENEFIT OF ALL WHO ARE LISTENING AND FOR MY OWN BENEFIT AS WELL. UM, I WANNA GO BACK TO THESE, UM, TO THE MICRO LOAN PROGRAM FOR JUST A MOMENT. I SHARE THE CONCERNS OF, OF OUR COUNCIL, OF MY COLLEAGUES AND MY COUNCIL MEMBERS ABOUT THE FACT THAT ONLY $50,000 [00:45:01] IS BEING UTILIZED FOR THAT AND BUDGETED FOR THAT. BUT LET ME ASK THE QUESTION AS WELL, BECAUSE WHEN I TALK TO, UH, CITIZENS ABOUT, UM, THE MOM AND POPS, THE SMALLER BUSINESSES BEING BOLSTERED AND BOOSTED IN OUR COMMUNITY, UM, THEY HAVE A CONCERN THAT, UM, IN THE MICROLOAN PROGRAM THAT IT IT, DOES IT HAVE THE CAPABILITY TO TURN INTO A GRANT? BECAUSE I HEARD YOU UTILIZE THE WORD GRANT, BUT WE ARE STILL TALKING ABOUT MICRO LOANS. SO DOES THE MICRO LOAN PROGRAM HAVE THE CAPACITY TO TURN INTO A GRANT AT ANY, AT ANY POINT? NO, SIR. THAT IS SOLELY A, A MICRO LOAN. IT IS SOLELY A LOAN. WE CREATED THAT, UM, I BELIEVE IT WAS DURING IKE, AND IT WAS TO HELP THE SMALL BUSINESSES GET BACK ON THEIR FEET. AND WE'VE JUST KEPT IT GOING SINCE THEN. UH, WE CREATED THIS MICROLOAN BASICALLY, YOU KNOW, TO HELP THOSE, UH, BUSINESSES THAT CAN'T GO AND GET A CONVENTIONAL LOAN OR, OR, YOU KNOW, THEY, IT, IT'S A LITTLE BIT MORE STRENUOUS FOR THEM TO DO. SO, UM, WE ALSO CALLED IT A MICROLOAN BECAUSE WE UNDERSTOOD THAT THERE WOULD BE RISK INVOLVED BECAUSE WE ARE OFFERING IT TO STARTUP BUSINESSES AS WELL AS SMALL BUSINESSES THAT CAN'T GO NATURALLY GET A LOAN FROM A BANK AT THE TIME. SO WE, WE DO KEEP IT AS A QUOTE UNQUOTE MICRO LOAN FOR THAT REASON, BECAUSE THERE IS, THERE IS RISK INVOLVED AND WE ARE AWARE OF THAT. SO, UH, WE, WE CREATED THIS TO KIND OF HELP SPARK THOSE SMALL BUSINESSES AND GIVE THEM ANOTHER OPPORTUNITY FOR FUNDING OUTSIDE OF YOUR TRADITIONAL, UH, BANKS AND, AND LENDING INSTITUTIONS. SO THAT IS TOTALLY SEPARATE FROM OUR INCENTIVES OR, OR WHAT WE CALL INCENTIVES SLASH GRANTS. AND SO THAT'S NOT A PART OF THE BUSINESS INCUBATION PROCESS. THEY, IT CAN BE IF THEY, IF IF SOMEONE GOING THROUGH THE INCUBATOR WOULD LIKE TO UTILIZE THE MICRO LOAN, IT IS AVAILABLE. AND HOW MUCH, HOW MUCH, HOW DID, HOW IS THE AMOUNT GIVEN OR LOANED, UM, UM, DEPENDENT UPON WHAT THE CREDIT SCORE, THE, WHAT ARE THE TERMS OF THE LOAN? I'LL LET RACHEL SHE'LL, SHE CAN ELABORATE ON THE DETAILS ON THAT. AGAIN, THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WE'RE CURRENTLY REVAMPING. UM, LAST, THE, BEFORE THE REVISION, WE HAD A MINIMUM OF, UM, I THINK LIKE 15,000 IF YOU HAD A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF SALES. AND WE'RE TAKING A LOOK AT ALL OF THAT TO GIVE THE APPLICANT AN OPPORTUNITY TO BORROW MORE AND CHANGE THE CRITERIA. AND, AND I WE'RE STILL WORKING ON THAT. ACTUALLY. I HAVE A, IN, UH, APPOINTMENT WITH SHELDON WITH, UH, GROW PORT ARTHUR FUND. WE WORK WITH A CONSULTANT AND HE'LL BE IN HERE I THINK NEXT WEEK, OR I THINK IT'S THE WEEK AFTER, BUT I THINK IT IS NEXT WEEK. AND WE'RE TRYING TO FINALIZE ALL OF THAT NOW TO TRY TO MAKE SURE THAT EVERYTHING THAT WE'RE DOING IS GONNA BENEFIT THE CITIZENS OF PORT ARTHUR AND GET THOSE MICRO LOANS AND THE MONIES TO THE PEOPLE THAT NEED IT. UM, I, I REALLY CAN'T SHARE TOO MUCH OF IT RIGHT NOW BECAUSE IT MIGHT CHANGE. AGAIN, LIKE I SAID, WE ARE REVISING THAT, OUR REVAMPING THAT CURRENTLY. SO AGAIN, WE'RE GONNA TRY TO MAKE SURE THAT THIS TIME AROUND THE PROGRAM WORKS FOR THE CITIZEN SUPPORT ARTHUR. OKAY. ONE MORE QUESTION THAT I HAVE, MAYOR, IF I MIGHT. OH, SURE. UM, THE 5 0 1 PROCTOR, THE 5 0 1 C3, UH, THAT WE UTILIZE, HOW ARE WE, UH, EMPLOYING IT INTO THE STRATEGIC PRIORITIES OF THE EDC? HOW IS IT BEING UTILIZED? IS IT STILL BEING UTILIZED? WHAT'S, WHAT ROLE IS IT PLAYING? UM, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT, UH, I'VE BEEN TALKING TO OUR CITY ATTORNEY ABOUT IS, UM, LOOKING AT A LAND BANK PROGRAM. UM, JUST, WE'VE JUST KIND OF TALKED ABOUT IT FOR HOUSING FOR VETERANS, UM, AND LOOKING AND PUTTING IT IN A PART OF OUR COMMUNITY THAT NEEDS ROOFTOPS, UH, BECAUSE IT IS A FOOD DESERT IN THAT PARTICULAR PART OF THE, UH, CITY ON THE WEST SIDE PARTICULARLY, THEY DON'T HAVE A, UH, FOOD, THEY DON'T HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO GET FOOD WITHIN A TWO MILE RADIUS. SO WE ARE LOOKING AT A LAND BANK AND PUTTING HOUSES FOR VETERANS THERE TO ATTRACT INDIVIDUALS THAT IT'S JUST, IT'S JUST A CONVERSATION BEFORE EVERYBODY GETS ALL IN A TIZZY ABOUT IT. IT'S NOT ANYTHING THAT WE'VE DONE, BUT IN ESSENCE, UM, IT IS, IS IS THE 5 0 1 PROCTOR SOMETHING THAT CAN BE UTILIZED IN THAT PARTICULAR AREA? ARE THEY DOING ANYTHING, JUST, JUST ASKING THESE QUESTIONS? SURE. SO 5 0 1 PROCTOR INCORPORATED IS THE, UH, ENTITY THAT YOU'RE SPEAKING OF. THEY'RE ACTUALLY COMPLETELY SEPARATED FROM THE EDC NOW. SO WE DO NOT CONTROL THAT ORGANIZATION. UM, IT IS POSSIBLE THAT WE CAN WORK [00:50:01] IN CONJUNCTION WITH THAT ORGANIZATION FOR PROJECTS SUCH AS THE ONE THAT YOU MENTIONED. UM, UH, BUT I, I CAN'T SPEAK AS TO WHAT THEIR OPERATION LOOKS LIKE RIGHT NOW, THEIR FUNDING OR, OR WHAT THEY MAY ALREADY BE DOING. UH, AGAIN, WE DON'T CONTROL IT ANYMORE. ONCE IT, IT PASSED A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF TIME, THEY VENTURED OFF ON THEIR OWN. SO WE, WE, WE DON'T CONTROL THAT ANYMORE. SO THERE'S NO COLLABORATION AT ALL AT THIS TIME? NO. WE HAVE NOT COLLABORATED ON THINGS SINCE THEY'VE SEPARATED. THANK YOU. BUT THERE IS OPPORTUNITY TO DO SO. THANK YOU SO MUCH. ALRIGHT. WE DON'T HAVE ANY MORE LIKES. I'LL HAVE SOME AUDIENCE QUESTIONS. UM, MR. DOUCETTE HAD HIS HAND UP AND THEN MS. CHANCE SANCHEZ, I'M SORRY, MS. DOUCETTE. AND THEN MS. CHANCE SANCHEZ. GOOD MORNING. PEREL. DOUCETTE 51 80 CAMBRIDGE. I HAVE A COUPLE OF A QUESTION AND COMMENT. THE FIRST QUESTION IS ON THE REVENUE SLIDE. UH, WE HAD, UH, A BUSINESS PARK MAINTENANCE FOR REVENUE AND IT'S FOR ASSESSMENT FEE. OKAY. YOU HAD MAINTENANCE. ALL RIGHT. AND THE ONLY OTHER COMMENT I HAVE IS MY ONLY CONCERN WHEN WE TALKED ABOUT THE A AND THE B AND THAT WAS OUR CONCERNS, IF WE'RE GONNA USE B PROJECTS AND STUFF, IT SEEMED LIKE IT SHOULD BE, UH, TALKED ABOUT BY THE EDC BROUGHT TO COUNCIL, COUNCIL, LOOKS AT IT AND AGREED TO IT, AND THEN THOSE PROJECTS ARE SELECTED AND THOSE PROJECTS ARE FUNDED. AND WHEN YOU DO THAT, YOU'RE GONNA HAVE THE PRIORITIES. BECAUSE RIGHT NOW WE HAVE AFFORDABLE HOUSING, 930 SOME THOUSAND FROM THE EDC. I WAS ON THE EDC WHEN WE DID 300,000 WITH 10 HOMES, 30,000 ASSISTANT. AND WHAT I THINK COUNCIL AND THE EDC SHOULD UNDERSTAND IS SOMEBODY MEETING THE REQUIREMENTS FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING DOES NOT EQUATE TO THEM BEING GIVEN A HOME BECAUSE IT'S ABOUT A FINANCIAL INSTITUTE. AND SHE DIDN'T EVEN, WELL, THE, THE CHARTER DID NOT USE ALL OF THE MONEY. WHEN WE USE 300,000 IN A YEAR, AND RIGHT NOW YOU'RE PUTTING 930,000 FOR 30 HOMES IN ONE YEAR, IT'S NOT GONNA HAPPEN. THERE'S A LOT OF MONEY GONNA BE CARRIED OVER. IF YOU COULDN'T SPEND 300, HOW YOU GONNA SPEND 930 AND THE TYPE B PROJECTS, THE CITIZENS WERE TOLD BETTER QUALITY OF LIFE, BE ABLE TO DO WATER, UTILITIES, STREETS AND ALL OF THIS STUFF. BUT HERE WE GO. THE FIRST TIME WE DOING IT AND WE DOING GOLF COURSE AND $930,000 FOR HOUSING. SO IT'S A LOT OF THINGS I SEE HERE WHEN WE TALK ABOUT THE BUDGET, WE HAVE TAKEN ANOTHER LOOK AT IT. MAYBE YOU ALL CAN BEFORE, UH, THEN THE BUDGET CYCLE, BUT WATER UTILITIES IS SOMETHING THAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT INCREASING PIPE, THE PIPES, WE CONSTANTLY POPPING ALL OVER THE PLACE, BUT NONE OF THIS STUFF IS BEING UTILIZED IF WE'RE GONNA GO TO THE EDC. THANK YOU. OKAY, MS. SANCHEZ, I JUST WANTED TO MAKE, UM, ONE CORRECTION. I WANT CLARIFICATION FOR MR. DOUCETTE. AND THE $930,000 IS NOT JUST ONE PROJECT, BUT TWO. SO IT'S NOT 930,000 FOR YEAH. FOR DOWN PAYMENT ASSISTANCE. IT IS TWO, IT'S YES. 180,000 IS FOR THE DOWN PAYMENT ASSISTANCE AND THE DIFFERENCE IS TO GIFFORD POND, THE, THE INFRASTRUCTURE. OKAY. GIFFORD POND, WHICH YOU GOT IT. WHICH YOU VOTED FOR COUNSEL. YEAH. DOWN THE STREET. GOOD MORNING. GLORIA SANCHEZ, 6 6 2 5 JADE AVENUE. I WOULD LIKE TO SEE IF THEY CAN CLARIFY A LITTLE MORE ABOUT WHAT EXACTLY EDC DO FOR A SMALL BUSINESS. I HEARD THE MICROCHIP UH, LOAN, BUT WHAT ABOUT IF I DON'T WANT A LOAN? IT'S SOMETHING THAT ACTUALLY EDC GIVE IT TO THE SMALL BUSINESSES AND IF IT IS SOMETHING, WHAT IS IT? HOW THEY, UH, CAN QUALIFY FOR? AND AGAIN, IT IS SOMETHING FOR JUST NEW BUSINESS OR EXISTING BUSINESS THAT I'M HAVING A HARD TIME RIGHT NOW AND THEY WANNA TAKE SOME KIND. THE HELP FROM EDC IS SOMETHING AVAILABLE FOR THEM OR NO. AND WHAT ARE THE QUALIFICATION? BECAUSE SOMETIMES WE HEARD THE EDC GIVING MONEY TO WHATEVER NEW BUSINESS COMING $400,000 AND THEN THEY GO AND APPLY [00:55:01] AND THEY SAID THEY DIDN'T GIMME ANYTHING TO ME. WHY? CAN YOU EXPLAIN A LITTLE BIT MORE HOW THIS WORK? YES, MA'AM. SO RIGHT NOW, UM, WE ARE A FOUR A EDC. AND WHAT THAT MEANS IS WE HAVE TO UTILIZE OUR, OUR FUNDS FOR CERTAIN PROJECTS THAT CREATE PRIMARY JOBS. AND THOSE JOBS ARE USUALLY FOUND IN YOUR MANUFACTURING TYPE, UM, JOBS. OTHERWISE WE'RE ABLE TO INJECT INFRASTRUCTURE FUNDS FOR NEW BUSINESS ENTERPRISE. SO A LOT OF TIMES YOU'LL SEE WE, WE MAY IMPROVE THE INFRASTRUCTURE ON A STREET CORNER THAT'LL BRING A, UH, NEW DEVELOPMENT THERE THAT BRINGS TWO OR MORE BUSINESSES TO IT. UNFORTUNATELY, UP UNTIL RECENTLY WE HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO HELP BECAUSE THE WAY THAT THE LAWS, UH, THE STATUTE HAS, UH, CREATED US AS A FOUR A, E, D, C, YOUR SMALLER BUSINESSES DON'T QUALIFY FOR GRANTS UNDER THE WAY THAT THE LAW HAS PUT US AT. UH, I MENTIONED DURING THE PRESENTATION THAT WE DO INTEND THIS YEAR TO GO BACK TO THE VOTERS AND ASK TO ALLOW US TO USE SOME OF OUR FORAY FUNDS TO BE ABLE TO DO SMALL GRANTS FOR SMALL BUSINESSES, BUT THAT, THAT IS COMING DOWN THE ROAD. UM, IT'S SOMETHING WE'RE CURRENTLY WORKING ON. SO AS OF RIGHT NOW WITH SMALL BUSINESSES, WE OFFER RESOURCES, WE OFFER THE MICRO LOAN, AND THEN IF THEY ARE A PRIMARY JOB CREATOR, THEN WE CAN OFFER AN INCENTIVE. MY SECOND QUESTION IS TO THE GULF, I SEE TWO, $2 MILLION FOR THE GULF FROM A DC, AND I SEE ON THE BUDGET 16 MILLIONS FOR THE GULF FROM THE CITY OF PORT, OR I WANT A CLARIFICATION ON THAT. ONE IS TOGETHER, IT'S 80 MILLION TOTALS IS 14 MILLION. HOW MUCH IS GOING TO THE GULF? AND IF SOMEONE CAN LIST THE ITEMS THAT THIS MONEY GONNA BE USING FOR, WELL, YOU WANT TO ASK, UM, I'M SORRY. UM, RON, DO Y'ALL GUYS, UH, WHO NEEDS TO ANSWER THAT? HER QUESTION, HOW MUCH MONEY GOING TO THE GOLF? AND I DON'T PLAY THE, MAYBE FOR THAT REASON I'M ASKING THE GOLF. I THINK IT'S 2 MILLION. I THINK THE, UM, 2 MILLION EDC DIRECTORS VERY CLEAR ON THAT. $2.3 MILLION, 2.3 MILLION. AND THERE ARE THREE PROJECTS, FOUR PROJECTS INVOLVED. FOUR PROJECTS INVOLVED, YES. IN THE TWO, THERE'S THE KITCHENETTE, THERE'S THE BATHROOMS, AND THERE'S TRAINING CENTER AND THERE'S THE IRRIGATION SYSTEM. OKAY. I THINK THEY SAID AT FOUR OR FIVE LOCATIONS. OKAY. OKAY. THANK YOU. AND NOTHING FROM THE ACTUALLY CITY BUDGET GOING TO THE, UH, GULF, JUST THE EDC, THE CITY'S BUDGET. YEAH, I, I THINK I SEE SOMETHING ON THE CITY BUDGET FOR, THE REASON I'M ASKING TO CLARIFICATION IS SOMETHING IN THE BUDGET 50 I HEARD, I SEE SOME MILLION DOLLARS AND I CAN BE WRONG, BUT I WOULD LIKE TO SEE SOMEONE CAN CLARIFY FOR ME IF I SEE CORRECTLY ABOUT $16 MILLION GOING TO THE GULF. WE'LL TALK ABOUT THAT ON THE CAPITAL. BUT AGAIN, IT'S A TRANSFER FROM THIS EDC BUDGET. THE $2.3 MILLION HAS TO BE TRANSFERRED FROM OVER FROM THE EDC BUDGET INTO THE CITY'S BUDGET. THAT'S WHAT PROPOSED, WHICH BE REFLECTED PROPOSED TRANSFER ON THE CAP. IT'S A PROPOSED TRANSFER. OKAY. WHICH WILL BE REFLECTED ON THE CAPITAL. OKAY. WE GOT, AND THEN THE FINANCIAL DIRECTOR WILL PROVIDE THE EXPLANATION. OKAY. FOR THE $16 MILLION, THAT MAKES IT ALL. OKAY, THANK YOU. UM, I HAVE COUNCIL MEMBER JACOBS. YES MA'AM. THANK YOU. AND THIS IS MY LAST REMARK OR SEVERAL REMARKS. UM, I WAS ABLE TO FIND THE PAGE. IT'S 23. SO JUST WANTED TO UM, KIND OF AGAIN ASK ANOTHER QUESTION AND KIND OF SHARE WHAT I THINK SHOULD BE ANOTHER FOCUS. UM, THE FOUR B TOTAL IS $5.2 MILLION. IF WHAT I'M LOOKING AT IS CORRECT ON PAGE 23, BABE HARRIS' GOLF COURSE FOUR B INCENTIVE 2.3 MILLION AND THEN FOUR B INCENTIVES IS LISTED SEPARATELY. IT'S 2.93 MILLION. UM, SO WITH THE FOUR B TOTAL, UH, ALLOCATION, PROPOSED ALLOCATION 5.2 MILLION AND THEN THE PROPOSED FOUR A INCENTIVE TOTAL IS 3.7 MILLION. UM, I THINK THAT, AGAIN, EXCITED ABOUT THAT THE, THE FOUR B ORDINANCE THAT WAS PASSED AND THE, THE NEW ABILITY OF THE EDC. BUT I THINK STILL AS A FOUR A, ED, C, WE SHOULD WE SHOULD FOCUS ON BEING A FOUR A, ED, C. AND I, I DON'T KNOW IF I'M SAYING THAT CORRECTLY, BUT IF THERE ARE $5.2 MILLION BEING ALLOCATED TO FOUR B PROJECTS AND IT SOUNDS LIKE THERE'S A MAYBE A, A THOUGHT THAT WE SHOULD DO MORE, WHEREAS OUR FOUR A TOTAL IS 3.7. AND SOME OF THE COUNCIL MEMBERS HERE HAS KIND OF SHARED CONCERNS ABOUT PEOPLE WHO HAVE BEEN TRYING TO GET FOUR A INCENTIVE. [01:00:01] UM, I THINK THAT AGAIN, OPERATING UNDER EVERYTHING THAT IS LEGAL AND ALLOWABLE AND HAS BEEN VOTED UPON BY THE CITIZENS, UM, AS A FOUR A-E-D-C-I, I PERSONALLY FEEL LIKE OUR ALLOCATIONS SHOULD BE HIGHER FOR A, FOR FOUR A PROJECTS. UM, AND THEN ADDITIONALLY, THIS QUESTION IS ONE I HAD EARLIER AND I JUST COULDN'T FIND THE PAGE, BUT SAME PAGE 23. UM, THE TOTAL OPERATING BUDGET IS 12.4 MILLION AND THE RESERVES FUNDING IS 6.7. AND I'M JUST WONDERING IF THERE IS A, UH, AN ESTABLISHED THRESHOLD, UH, PERCENTAGE THRESHOLD OF WHICH WE CAN, THE EDC IS ALLOWED TO PULL OR IS IT KIND OF LIKE YOU JUST, IS IT A DOLLAR AMOUNT OR A PERCENTAGE THAT YOU'RE PULLING TO TO IN ORDER TO KEEP THE BALANCE, I GUESS, UM, STABLE IN THE RESERVES ACCOUNT, IF THAT MAKES SENSE? 'CAUSE TO ME IT SEEMS LIKE THAT'S QUITE A BIT OF YOUR OPERATING BUDGET. 50% OVER 50% OF YOUR OPERATING BUDGET IS BEING PULLED FROM RESERVES WHEN YOU'RE ONLY BRINGING IN SEVEN POINT SO MILLION, UM, WITH ACTUAL REVENUE. AND SO FOR ME, THAT'S A LITTLE CONCERNING BECAUSE IT THOUGH WE'RE ABLE TO BALANCE IT. RIGHT. THAT'S GREAT THAT WE HAVE IT OR YOU ALL HAVE IT IN YOUR RESERVES. HOW LONG IS THAT SUSTAINABLE? UH, COUNCILMAN JACOBS, YOU ARE, UH, CORRECT IN, IN, IN EVERYTHING THAT YOU'VE OBSERVED. IT IS SOMETHING THAT IS A LITTLE OUT OF THE ORDINARY WITH THIS BUDGET. AND THE REASON THAT THE FOUR B IS HIGHER AND THAN THE FOR A IN THIS, IN THIS PARTICULAR BUDGET IS BECAUSE OF THE CARRYOVERS THAT WE ANTICIPATE THERE ARE GONNA BE APPROVED IN THIS FISCAL YEAR. THAT INCLUDES THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING, THE UH, GOLF COURSE MUSEUM. THOSE ARE ALL VERY LARGE PROJECTS THAT WE DO NOT ANTICIPATE TO BE ONGOING. OUR, UH, IF YOU LOOK AT THE NEW ALLOCATION FOR NEW INCENTIVES, FOUR A DOES HAVE A HIGHER ALLOCATION IN THE FOUR B AT 1.5 MILLION AND 1 MILLION AT FOUR, UH, FOR FOUR B. SO WE, WE DO ANTICIPATE FOR OUR BUDGET TO GO BACK DOWN NEXT YEAR. UM, UNFORTUNATELY WE, WE WERE JUST HIT ALL AT ONCE WITH THESE LARGER PROJECTS FOR THIS FISCAL YEAR. SO WE WERE, YOU KNOW, BUT FORTUNATELY WE WERE ABLE TO PUT MONEY BACK INTO OUR RESERVES OVER THE LAST, WHAT, 10 YEARS OR SO, RACHEL. SO WE, WE HAVE A VERY, UM, HEALTHY GEN, YOU KNOW, UH, GENERAL FUND OR RESERVE RATHER RESERVE. RIGHT. SO, YOU KNOW, WE, IF OUR BOARD FELT IT WAS, IT WAS OKAY TO GO AHEAD AND PULL THAT TO COVER THESE LARGER PROJECTS THAT WE'RE NOT GONNA CONTINUE. SANDY, THESE ARE, THESE ARE KIND OF THOSE ONE AND, UH, A WHILE, ONCE IN A WHILE TYPE PROJECTS. ABSOLUTELY. SO THE CARRYOVER IS LIKE FOR INSTANCE, THE, UH, AFFORDABLE HOUSING. I KNOW THAT THAT HAS BEEN AN ONGOING PROJECT. SO ESSENTIALLY THE CARRYOVER COULD IS OR COULD BE FUNDS THAT WERE NOT UTILIZED OR UNDERUTILIZED FROM PREVIOUS YEARS AND WERE ABLE TO PULL THOSE OUT OF RESERVES TO BE ABLE TO OPERATE. YES MA'AM. AND DO THOSE PROJECTS THIS YEAR? YES. OKAY. THANK YOU MA'AM. OKAY. WE HAVE, UH, MAYOR PRO TIM KINLAW AND THANK YOU MAYOR. THIS IS MY LAST QUESTION. I'M LOOKING AT YOUR PAYROLL AND OPERATING, UH, EXPENDITURES, UH, 1,349,910 AS FAR AS YOUR PAYROLL, HOW MANY EMPLOYEES YOU HAVE AT THE EDC? HOW MANY POSITIONS? I BELIEVE IT'S 11 POSITIONS. IS THAT RIGHT? AND THEN THAT'S GONNA INCLUDE THE NEW POSITION THAT YOU REQUESTED? YES SIR. OKAY. SO HOW MANY? 11 TOTAL. 11 TOTAL. THANK YOU. THANK YOU MAYOR. ALRIGHT, THANK YOU. OH, WE, UH, WE DON'T HAVE ANY MORE LIGHTS. WE'RE GONNA MOVE ON NOW TO BACK TO OUR ITEM ONE AND WE'LL TURN IT OVER TO I'M OH FIVE MINUTE. WE GONNA, WE'RE GONNA UH, TAKE A FIVE MINUTE BREAK AND WE'LL COME BACK. OKAY. THANK YOU GUYS. ALRIGHT, Y'ALL, WE'RE GONNA COME BACK TOGETHER FOR OUR SECOND. WE'RE GONNA GO BACK TO ITEM NUMBER ONE. RECORDING IN PROGRESS. THANK YOU. TO DISCUSS THE PROPOSED FISCAL YEAR 20 26, 20 27 BUDGET WITH EMPHASIS ON CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS ENTERPRISE FUND, AND OTHER SPECIAL FUNDS. THIS TIME WE IN THE HANDS OF OUR B***H JUST CAME TO YOU. UM, OUR FINANCE DIRECTOR, LYNN. GOOD MORNING MAYOR. COUNCIL [01:05:01] MEMBERS, GOOD MORNING CITY STAFF COLLEAGUES. PRE THAT I'M PRESENTING A VERY BRIEF OVERVIEW ON THE ENTERPRISE. WE ALREADY WENT THROUGH THE EDC AND THEN AFTER THE ENTERPRISE WE WILL TALK ABOUT SPECIAL REVENUE AND THEN CAPITAL ON THE PART WHERE I HAVE AGENDA AND I SEE THAT IT'S NOT IN THE ORDER IT NEEDED TO BE. I DO WANT TO BRING ATTENTION TO THE PROPOSED BUDGET THAT WAS PRESENTED ON AUGUST 20TH. JUST KEEP THESE IN MIND FOR CAPITAL. THE BULK OF THE CAPITAL DETAILS ARE ON PAGE 3 39. THE SUMMARY OF THOSE DETAILS ARE PAGES 2 84 TO 2 87. I JUST WANTED JUST TO LET YOU KNOW WHERE THESE THINGS ARE AT. IF YOU WANTED TO WRITE DOWN WHAT PAGES THEY ARE AND GET TO THEM QUICKLY AS FAR AS ENTERPRISE WATER IS. PAGE 180 4, SOLID WASTE. STARTS AT PAGE 1 98 AND PLEASURE ISLAND IS TWO 10, PAGE TWO 10 OF THAT PROPOSED BUDGET. AND FOR SPECIAL REVENUE, JUST FOR YOUR REFERENCE, THAT STARTS ON PAGE TWO 20. AND THAT'S JUST FOR REFERENCE. SO TODAY I'VE HIGHLIGHTED THAT WE ARE GOING TO GO OVER ENTERPRISE AND SPECIAL FUNDS. THE ENTERPRISE WE'LL BE TALKING ABOUT TODAY IS WATER AND SEWER SOLID WASTE PLEASURE ISLAND. AND THEN FOR SPECIAL REVENUE, I'LL TALK JUST A LITTLE BIT ABOUT TURS, OUR DRAINAGE GRANTS AND ALL OTHER SPECIAL REVENUE AND OUR INTERNAL SERVICES TO BEGIN UNDER THE WATER AND SEWER. THE BUDGET IS BALANCED. THERE IS A CORRECTION. THE INCREASE IN STAFF IS NOT FIVE, IT IS JUST TWO. THERE WERE RECLASSIFICATIONS THAT WE DID NOT CATCH ON THE PROPOSED, WHICH WILL BE UPDATED ON THE FINAL IF YOU GUYS ADOPT THAT. SO THREE POSITIONS WERE ACTUALLY JUST RECLASSED. THEY DIDN'T ADD ANYTHING. AND THE STAFF POSITION IS ONLY INCREASING BY TWO. I HAVE PUT IN HERE A PROPOSED INCREASE OF 7%. THAT IS NOT A FINAL, THAT IS JUST AN ESTIMATE. UM, I THINK THERE, MAYOR AND COUNCIL, THERE HAS BEEN A DISCUSSION IN PAST COUNCIL MEETINGS ON RECLASSIFICATIONS. AND ONE OF THE WAYS THAT WE CAN SAVE MONEY FOR THE CITY IS TO, AS COUNCIL, HAS ASKED US TO DO IN THE PAST, IS TO CONTINUALLY LOOK AT THE JOB DESCRIPTIONS AND SEE HOW WE COULD, UM, INSTEAD OF ADDING NEW POSITIONS TO THE BUDGET, SEE HOW WE COULD CONTINUE LOOK AT THE EXISTING JOB DESCRIPTIONS AND BRING THEM UP TO DATE WITH THE CURRENT REQUIREMENTS SLASH DEMANDS SLASH EVOLUTION OF THE DEPARTMENT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE CONTINUE TO SERVICE THE NEEDS OF THE, UM, OF THE DEPARTMENT AS WELL AS THE CITY, UM, ON A WHOLE. SO WHAT WE HAVE DONE, WE HAVE LOOKED AT, BASED ON THE, THE, THE REQUEST THAT WAS MADE BY THE UTILITIES DEPARTMENT, WE HAVE SEEN THE NEED TO RECLASSIFY THREE POSITIONS INSTEAD OF ADDING FREE ADDITIONAL POSITIONS TO THE BUDGET. HEREBY, AS MS. JACOB SAID IN THE PAST, YOU KNOW, WE NEED TO CONTINUE TO LOOK AT WAYS OF WHERE WE SAVE MONEY. UM, SO IN THAT CASE, WE HAVE SEEN IT NECESSARY TO DO THAT, WHERE WE ARE SAVING THE, UM, ENTERPRISE ON SOME MONEY BY RECLASSIFYING THOSE POSITIONS AS WELL AS ADDRESSING THE, UM, NEEDS OF, OF THE DEPARTMENT. THE NEXT PIECE IS SOLID WASTE. THE BUDGET IS BALANCED. I DO WANNA BRING OUT THAT WE ARE SUBSIDIZING, THE GENERAL FUND IS SUBSIDIZING SOLID WASTE TO THE TUNE OF $2 MILLION. WE WILL BE ASKING THAT THE, THE CERTIFICATES OF OBLIGATION BE REDIRECTED 5 MILLION OF THAT FOR THEIR NECESSARY EXPANSION OF THE LANDFILL, IN WHICH THEY ACTUALLY DON'T HAVE ENOUGH THERE TO, TO DO THAT, CAUSING US TO NEED THAT BOND. WE DID JUST BUT PROPOSE, BUT THEY'RE ACTUALLY NOT REFLECTED IN THE BUDGET AT ALL BECAUSE WE WILL BE WAITING FOR A MASTER PLAN THAT'S GONNA COME TO COUNCIL BY THE END OF THE YEAR. BUT PRIOR TO THE MASTER PLAN, WE ARE SUGGESTING LANDFILL INCREASE OF [01:10:01] $3 50 CENTS. I BELIEVE THAT'S ABOUT 50%. AND THE LANDFILL ACCEPT EXPANSION AS MENTIONED VIA CERTIFICATE OF OBLIGATION WHEN YOU HAD APPROVED THE $50 MILLION. THAT WAS JUST A NOTICE OF INTENT FOR THE 50 MILLION. AND WE WILL BE FINALIZING WITH YOUR PERMISSION, HOW THAT 50 MILLION WILL BE ALLOCATED. SO LET'S, LET'S GO BACK A BIT HERE. UM, REMEMBER THAT COUNCIL HAS ON THE TAKE AND TO DO A SOLITARY STUDY, AND THAT IS IN ITS FINAL STAGES RIGHT NOW. IT'S ABOUT 90, 95% COMPLETE. AS LYNN INDICATED BEFORE THE YEAR IS UP, WE WILL GET THE RESULTS OF THAT LANDFILL STUDY. IT'S A VERY COMPREHENSIVE STUDY OF SOLID WASTE, INCLUDING THE COMMERCIAL SERVICES THAT WE CONTINUE TO PROVIDE UP THERE. COUNCIL HAS ALREADY TAKEN ACTION, UM, ON THE SOLID WASTE STUDY BY PROVIDING US WITH NEW EQUIPMENT TO THE TUNE OF $8 MILLION, $8.6 MILLION FOR ALL THE NEW TRUCKS AND THE NEW EQUIPMENT THAT WE HAVE ORDERED. UM, AND SO WE HAVE SEEN THAT WE HAVE NOT MISSED A BIT IN TERMS OF SERVICE DELIVERY AS FAR AS THOSE ARE CONCERNED, BUT THAT WAS JUST A PRELIMINARY FINDING. UM, PART OF THE SOLID WASTE STUDY IS TO MAKE SURE THAT WE DO A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS HAS BEEN DONE ON THE VARIOUS ROUTES THAT CONTINUE TO EXIST. UM, AND WHETHER THEY ARE COMPARABLE TO ADJOINING JURISDICTIONS OR EVEN TO MARKET. UM, LET ME JUST GIVE YOU ONE EXAMPLE. SO THE TRASH ON WHAT WE PICK UP ON THE GROUND FOR THE RESIDENTIAL. FOR RESIDENTIAL, WE PROVIDE THAT SERVICE ONCE A WEEK AND WE ARE CHARGING ABOUT A DOLLAR 50 FOR THAT. THREE YEARS AGO WE WERE CHARGING, IT WAS PROVIDED AS A SERVICE FOR FREE. WHEN WE LOOK AT THE REVENUES THAT'S BEEN DERIVED FROM THAT IS ABOUT $365,000, WHICH DOESN'T EVEN COVER THE COST OF FUEL. UM, MORE OR LESS SO FOR THE WEAR AND TEAR, MORE OR LESS SO TO SERVICE THE, UM, OUR, OUR, UM, CREDIT, UM, DEBT THAT WE HAVE INCURRED ONLY $8.6 MILLION FOR CERTIFICATES OF OBLIGATION. SO THERE'S A POSSIBILITY THAT WE MAY COME IN AND WE MAY LOOK AT THAT AGAIN. UM, BUT THE IDEA IS TO PUT THE BRUNT OF THE BURDEN ON THE COMMERCIAL AND THE, THE, THE OUR CUSTOMERS WHO USE OUR LANDFILL BECAUSE THAT IS WHERE THE MONEY'S GOING TO BE AND REDUCE THE, THE BURDEN ON THE RESIDENTS THEMSELVES. SO IF WE CAN FIND WAYS WHERE WE CAN MAINTAIN THE, THE, THE FEES THAT WE CHARGE TO OUR RESIDENTS, WE WILL, WE WILL MAINTAIN IT WHILST WE CONTINUE TO LOOK AT, UM, THE MARKET AND SEE WHAT WE CHARGE FOR COMMERCIAL AND OTHER STREAMS OF SOLID WASTE. AS YOU KNOW, WE ARE HAVING A DISCUSSION OUT THERE TO SEE, UM, WITH EISG TO SEE HOW SUCCESSFUL WE ARE IN BRINGING OTHER FORMS OF, UM, WASTE TO THE LANDFILL, WHICH WILL INCREASINGLY AND REMARKABLY INCREASE THE AMOUNT OF REVENUE THAT WE GET FOR OUR LANDFILL. APART FROM THAT, WE ARE TALKING ABOUT CREATING A NEW SALE, WHICH ON THE CAPITAL, UM, IT'S ON THE, ON THE, THE ENTERPRISE FUND, WHICH WILL BE NEEDED IN THE NEXT YEAR OR SO. UM, PRESENTLY THE SALE IS BEING ENGINEERED, UM, BUT WE NEED STEALING ABOUT $7 MILLION FOR THAT 5 MILLION, $5 MILLION FOR THAT. SO IN ORDER TO MEET THE DEMANDS, THE INCOMING AND FORECASTED DEMANDS THAT WE ARE LOOKING AT, AS WE CONTINUE TO NEGOTIATE TO INCREASE THIS, THE, THE, THE WAYS THAT WE TAKE IN, WE ARE MAKING SURE THAT WE ARE PLANNING FOR REVENUE INCREASES AS WELL, UM, AS WE CONTINUE TO DO THAT. AND FINALLY, WE HAVE PLEASURE ISLAND. THE BUDGET IS BALANCED. WE ARE LOOKING AT FEES, AND THAT IS STILL YET TO BE DETERMINED FOR US TO COME BACK TO YOU FOR PROPOSED. AND MR. BURTON IS LOOKING FORWARD TOWARDS A MASTER PLAN FOR PLEASURE ISLANDS. SO COUNCIL HAS ALREADY VOTED, UM, FOR THE FUNDING OF THE MASTER PLAN, WE HAVE GONE OUT WITH REQUESTS FOR PROPOSALS. WE HAVE RECEIVED THOSE PROPOSALS. I THINK IT'S ON THIS AGENDA, IT'S ON THIS AGENDA FOR TOMORROW WHERE WE HAVE, UM, SELECTED A COMPANY THAT WILL, UM, ASSIST US IN DEVELOPING A MASTER PLAN FOR PLEASURE ISLAND. UM, WE DO HAVE THE FUNDING AVAILABLE. WHAT WE WANT [01:15:01] TO DO IS TO MAKE SURE THAT THIS COMPANY COMES IN AND WE IDENTIFY PROJECTS AND PROGRAMS THAT WILL TAKE US OVER THE NEXT FIVE YEARS OR SO, UM, FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF, OF, OF PLEASURE ISLAND. AND THAT'S BEEN DONE. THAT SHOULD BE DONE IN A VERY ORGANIZED AND SYSTEMATIC WAY. PART OF WHAT WE'RE DOING AS WELL, WE ARE WORKING WITH THE NAVIGATION DISTRICT TO SEE THE REPOSITIONING RE UM, OF OUR, UM, RV PARK, WHICH WAS DECIMATED AS A RESULT OF THE WIDENING AND, AND DEEPENING OF, OF THE, OF THE CANAL. UM, SO WE WILL SEE THAT STREAM OF REVENUE BACK ON, UM, FUNDING FOR THE RV PARK AND FOR SOME TRAILS AROUND THE, UM, UM, UM, THE CANAL WILL IS COMING AT A ZERO COST FOR THE CITY. UM, THE NAVIGATION DISTRICT IS GOING TO, UM, UM, FOOT THE BILL FOR THAT. HOWEVER, WE WILL CONTINUE TO SEE A STREAM OF REVENUE, UM, GET BACK, UM, UM, FOR PLEASURE ISLAND. WHEN THAT IS COMPLETED, THE DIRECTOR IS DOING THE, UM, NECESSARY, UM, BACKGROUND CHECKS AND, AND, UM, TO MAKE SURE THAT, UM, OUR FEES OF THE PLEASURE ISLAND ARE IN LINE WITH FEES CHARGED FOR THAT TYPE OF SERVICE. YOU KNOW, IN THE AREA, WHEN WE LOOK AT IT, UM, WE HAVE HAD, IT'S IN THE LAST FOUR YEARS, WE HAVE NOT HAD ANY SIGNIFICANT INCREASES IN THE FEES THAT WE PROVIDE ON PET ISLAND YET. WE CONTINUE TO PROVIDE GOOD SERVICE TO OUR CUSTOMERS OUT THERE. UM, THE INTENTION AGAIN IS JUST LIKE THE GULF COAST TO MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE A PREMIER ASSET OUT THERE. UM, AND IT'S BEING USED BY ALL THE CITIZENS AS WELL AS VISITORS ALIKE. UM, WE DO HAVE, WE DO HAVE ON THE RADAR A VISITOR CENTER FOR SOME SEVEN, $7 MILLION, UM, THAT WE DISCUSSED AT THE STAFF LEVEL. HOWEVER, WE ARE GOING TO WAIT UNTIL WE HAVE THE MASTER PLAN IN PLACE. WE'RE GOING TO LOOK FOR THE OPPORTUNITY OF COLLABORATION AND COORDINATION TO DEVELOP THE MARKETING PART OF THAT VISITOR CENTER TO SEE WHAT GOES IN THERE AND WHAT WILL RE PROVIDE A RETURN ON THE INVESTMENT FOR $7 MILLION. SO THERE IS AN OPPORTUNITY HERE TO WORK WITH, UH, I'M JUST THROWING THIS OUT THERE, WHETHER IT'S TEXAS A AND M OR LAMAR, PORT ARTHUR OR, UM, OR ANY OTHER TERTIARY INSTITUTION TO SEE HOW WE CAN DEVELOP A PRODUCT AND MARKET THAT PRODUCT WHERE WE CAN GET A MAXIMUM RETURN. ONE OF THE BIG THINGS THAT'S OUT THERE, UM, UM, RIGHT NOW AS, AS I TOLD THE DIRECTOR OF PLEASURE ISLAND IS THE CREATION OF ARTIFICIAL REEFS. AND, UM, IF WE ARE ABLE TO PROVIDE PRO PROMOTE PLEASURE ISLAND AS ONE OF THE PREMIER DESTINATIONS FOR ARTIFICIAL REEFS FOR THE WHOLE OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, WE COULD SEE AN INCREASED REVENUE STREAM FOR PRESSURE ISLAND IN THE FUTURE, IN THE FUTURE AS WELL. SO WE ARE LOOKING AT IT VERY CLOSELY, BUT WE ARE TAKING IT ONE STEP AT A TIME. WE, FIRST WE ARE ESTABLISHING THE MASTER PLAN, THEN WE WILL ESTABLISH OUR MARKETING PLAN, THEN WE'LL GO OUT FOR PROJECTS AND PROGRAM AS WE CONTINUE TO SEE THE IMPROVEMENTS THAT WE, UM, HAVE ON THE HORIZON FOR PLEASURE ISLAND ONTO THE SPECIAL REVENUE FUNDS. THE TAX INCREMENT REINVESTMENT ZONE, YOU ARE, YOU'VE GOT MORE REVENUE COMING IN BECAUSE OF THE PROPERTY VALUES THAT HAVE COME ON FOR THIS TAX YEAR. IT IS DOUBLE THE AMOUNT THAT IS COLLECTED YOUR CURRENT FUND BALANCE WITH VERY MINIMAL TO, TO NO EXPENSES. YOUR CURRENT FUND BALANCE IS 236,000, BUT YOU'RE GONNA BE COLLECTING 206,000 FOR FISCAL YEAR 27. SO THE TOTAL THAT CAN BE APPROPRIATE IS, IS 443,000 AND REGULAR. REGULAR COLLECTIONS EVERY YEAR WILL NOT BE LESS THAN $200,000 PER YEAR, WHICH IS A, JUST A HUGE AND KIND OF A WONDERFUL RELIEF. I FINALLY FEEL LIKE THIS TOURS CAN ACTUALLY DO SOMETHING MORE CONSTRUCTIVE AND SEE YOUR VISIONS THROUGH. OKAY, SO I, I KNOW MAYOR PUT THEM IS VERY MUCH INTERESTED IN WHAT'S HAPPENING ON IN THE TOUR DISTRICT AND, UM, THE FINANCIAL DIRECTOR AND MYSELF IS HAVING A VERY INTENSE DISCUSSION WITH OUR FINANCIAL ADVISOR, ANN, AND WE ARE LOOKING AT, UM, OUR BORROWING CAPACITY, WHETHER WE COULD DO IT AS, UM, UH, UH, WHETHER THE TWOS AS AN ENTITY COULD GO THERE AND INCUR DEBT. APPARENTLY, I, [01:20:01] UH, OUR DISCUSSIONS ARE RANGING ALONG THE LINES THAT WE COULD ACTUALLY LOAN MONEY TO THE TURDS AS A TAXING ENTITY, THE CITY AS A TAXING ENTITY. WE COULD LOAN MONEY TO THE TURDS AND THE TURDS COULD REPAIR US, YOU KNOW, SO THAT IS ONE WAY OF LOOKING AT RAISING REVENUE FOR IT. UM, SEEING THAT THE REVENUES FOR THE TURDS HAS ALMOST DOUBLED AND WE'LL CONTINUE TO INCREASE OVER A PERIOD OF TIME. SO AS THE MAYOR PROAM KNOWS AND, AND THOSE OF YOU WHO SERVE ON THE THIRD COMMITTEE, UM, WE HAVE HAD SEVERAL DISCUSSIONS ON CREATING THE CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PLANS FOR THE THIRD DISTRICT, WHICH WILL CONTINUE TO GUIDE THE GROUP AND DEVELOPMENT IN THE THIRD AREA FOR THE NEXT FIVE TO 10 YEARS TO COME. AND SO WHAT I'M LOOKING AT, WE ARE LOOKING AT WORKING WITH FROM, SINCE THERE IS MONEY YOU HAVE CREATED, YOU HAVE GENERATED ENOUGH REVENUE THUS FAR, WE ARE LOOKING AT THE POSSIBILITY OF ENGAGING, UM, WITH THE NECESSARY, UM, PROCUREMENT REQUIREMENTS, ENGAGING AN ORGANIZATION TO DEVELOP THAT, UM, UM, UM, CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PLAN FOR THE THIRD DISTRICT. WE HAVE ENOUGH MONEY TO FUND AND THEN TO PRIORITIZE THE PROJECTS THAT WE DO SEE AS NECESSARY. ONE OF THE THINGS I ALSO WANT THE COUNCIL TO, TO BEAR IN MIND IS HOW WE CAN CONTINUE TO FOSTER A PARTNERSHIP WITH, UM, ORGANIZATIONS THAT THE EDC, BECAUSE THE EED C IS PART OF THE THIRD DISTRICT AS WELL. I MEAN THEY HAVE, UM, ASSETS IN THE THIRD DISTRICT. HOW CAN WE CONTINUE TO FOSTER A PARTNERSHIP WITH THEM TO LOOK AT FOUR B PROJECTS AS WE MOVE ALONG THAT WOULD BENEFIT THE ENTIRE CITY? YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE CHALLENGES FOR THE THIRDS AND FOR DOWNTOWN, IF WE ARE TO REALIZE THE GROUP OF OUR DOWNTOWN DISTRICT IS PARKING, AS WE CONTINUE TO, UH, YOU KNOW, REPLACE THE FIRE HYDRANTS, IMPROVE THE STREETS AND WHAT HAVE YOU, UH, UH, REAL ESTATE IS GOING TO BE A PRIMARY COMMODITY IN THE DOWNTOWN AREA. OUR DOWNTOWN WAS NEVER THIS DESIGNED TO, TO HAVE, UM, A WIDE AREA OF REAL ESTATE FOR PARKING. SO WE'VE GOT TO BE CONTINUED TO BE CREATIVE AS WE CONTINUE TO ENVISION THE GROWTH OF OUR DOWNTOWN. MOTIVA IS BRINGING OVER 500 INDIVIDUALS TO WORK IN THE WORLD TRADE CENTER. MOTIVA MAY HAVE THE PARKING IN TERMS OF REAL ESTATE THAT IS NECESSARY FOR THAT, BUT AS WE CONTINUE TO CREATE NEW BUSINESSES, THE MOM AND PERHAPS BUSINESSES OUT THERE, AS WE CONTINUE TO UTILIZE THE, UM, THE, UM, OUR FACILITY OUT THERE ON PROCTOR STREET, HOW DO WE CREATE, UH, AS WE CONTINUE TO ACCOMMODATE MARDI GRAS AS WELL, HOW DO WE CONTINUE TO PROVIDE FOR PARKING? SO WE'VE GOT TO THINK ABOUT ALL THESE THINGS, THE PAVILION, HOW DO WE, HOW DO WE PROVIDE THE ASSETS FOR ALL OF THESE PREMIER, UM, FACILITIES AND EVENTS THAT WE ARE GOING TO HAVE IN OUR DOWNTOWN AREA. SO WE HAVE TO CONTINUE TO PLAN AND I WILL WORK AS YOUR CITY MANAGER. I WILL WORK WITH BOTH OUR FINANCIAL DEPARTMENT AND WITH ANY OTHER QUASI GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATION TO MAKE SURE THAT WE COME TO YOU WITH A PLAN TO FINANCE THOSE MUCH NEEDED ASSETS FOR, UM, THE IMPROVEMENT AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE DOWNTOWN AREA. AS FAR AS THE INTERNAL SERVICES, THEY ARE ALL BALANCED. ONE OF THE COSTS, WHICH IS THE HEALTH INSURANCE. WE DID JUST FIND OUT VERY RECENTLY AFTER EVERYTHING WAS PUT TOGETHER THAT THEY MAY GO UP HIGHER THAN ANTICIPATED. I DON'T HAVE THOSE NUMBERS RIGHT NOW. AND DR. THIGPEN IS WORKING ON THAT AND WORKING WITH OUR CONTRACTOR PER THAT PARTICULAR SERVICE. AND WE WILL WORK WITH THAT AND REVISE AS NEEDED AND LET YOU KNOW WHAT THOSE REVISIONS WILL BE. THE OTHER SPECIAL OH YES, LEMME JUST SHARE WITH COUNCIL. UM, THE CITY, THE CITY OF PORT APPLE HAS HAD A MODEL IN PLACE, I DUNNO, FOR 20 YEARS NOW WHERE WE, UH, IT'S, IT'S ABOUT 20 YEARS MAY WHERE WE ARE SELF FINANCING AND WE HAVE WORKED WITH ONE, UM, INSURANCE COMPANY TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY PROVIDE US WITH RATES, YOU KNOW, EVERY YEAR WHEN WE DO OUR BUDGET. FORTUNATELY, LAST YEAR WHEN THE RATES CAME BACK, THEY WERE WHAT, 4%, 4% INCREASE, WHICH WAS MINIMAL COMPARED, YOU KNOW, THE RATES THAT WE, WE HEARD ON FRIDAY AFTERNOON. GIVE ME STICKER SHOCK, YOU KNOW. AND SO I THINK IT IS TIME, JUST LIKE WE DID THE INSURANCE RATES FOR ON AND, AND GETTING A NEW VENDOR FOR OUR PROPERTIES OUT THERE, WHICH SAVED [01:25:01] US ABOUT HALF A QUARTER MILLION DOLLARS JUST LAST YEAR ALONE. I THINK IT'S HIGH TIME THAT WE CONTINUE TO LOOK AT OTHER MODELS THAT ARE AVAILABLE TO SEE HOW WE CAN CONTINUE TO PROVIDE QUALITY COVERAGE, UM, TO OUR EMPLOYEES AND AS WELL AS KEEP THE COST OF HEALTHCARE DOWN. YOU KNOW, UM, WE HAVE ONE COMPONENT OF THAT IN PLACE, WHICH IS WE ARE PROVIDING SERVICES THROUGH THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT FROM MS. JU, UM, THAT PROVIDES EXCELLENT SERVICE TO OUR EMPLOYEES OUT THERE. AND WE HAVE SEEN AND WE HAVE RIPPED THE BENEFITS OF, OF THE SERVICES THAT WE PROVIDE FOR THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT, THANKS TO MS. JUDY AND HER STAFF THAT CONTINUE TO PROVIDE EXCELLENT CUSTOMER SERVICE OUT THERE TO OUR EMPLOYEES. BUT WE NEED TO CONTINUE TO LOOK AT THE COMPANY THAT PROVIDE US WITH HEALTHCARE INSURANCE. WE NEED TO, ALL OTHERS SPECIAL REVENUE FUNDS ARE RESTRICTED. SO THEY HAVE RULES ON HOW THEY CAN BE ALLOCATED. WE'LL BE ASKING FOR APPROPRIATION OR REAPPROPRIATION OF ALL OF THE SPECIAL REVENUE ACCOUNTS. THEY ARE ALL BALANCED WITH EXPENDITURES AND WITH REVENUE. THE HIGHLIGHTS INSTEAD OF THE FIVE AUTHORIZED POSITIONS, IT'S ACTUALLY JUST THE TWO AUTHORIZED POSITIONS. WE HAVE JUST TWO ADDITIONAL PERSONNEL THAT IS REQUESTED FOR WATER AND WASTEWATER. WE WILL BE INCR, WE WILL BE RECOMMENDING AN INCREASE IN RATES FOR WATER AND WASTEWATER, WHICH WILL YIELD BETWEEN 25 TO 30 MILLION FOR ONGOING CERTIFICATES OF OBLIGATION. AND WE WILL BE RECOMMENDING INCREASE IN RATES FOR LANDFILL AT THIS TIME. 5 MILLION FOR THE NEW CERTIFICATES OF OBLIGATION IN THE GENERAL FUND SUBSIDY OF 2 MILLION. NO. IN TERMS OF THE RATES THAT ARE BEING, UM, PROPOSED, WE HAVE, UM, IS IT NEWGEN THAT'S WORKING WITH US? YES. NEWGEN? YES. AGAIN, IT'S NEWGEN THAT'S WORKING WITH US. UM, WE WILL NOT GET A REPORT FROM THEM UNTIL ABOUT MID-SEPTEMBER. UM, AS WE HAVE DISCUSSED IN THE PAST. HOWEVER, WE, I THINK WE HAVE A DATE WHERE, UM, UH, CITY ATTORNEY ASSIST ME HERE WHEN WE MAY BE CALLED ON BY THE ATTORNEY GENERAL TO GO TO COURT. WHEN, WHEN IS THAT WE'RE IN CONSTANT NEGOTIATION AND DISCUSSIONS WITH THE ATTORNEY GENERAL. UH, THE TEXAS ATTORNEY GENERAL LAWSUIT WILL GO TO TRIAL IN DECEMBER OF 2027. WE DO HAVE OUR WATER AND AFFORDABILITY STUDY CONSULTANT COMING ON SEPTEMBER THE EIGHTH TO BOTH BRIEF THE COUNCIL AND THE PUBLIC ON OUR RATE AND AFFORDABILITY. OKAY. SO MAYOR AND COUNCIL BUILDING ON THE INFORMATION THAT WAS BEING PROVIDED TO US LAST YEAR AND THE EXPECTATIONS FOR THIS YEAR, WE HAVE PLUGGED IN THE 7%. UM, WE WILL LISTEN TO WHAT, UM, NUGEN HAS TO SEE TO US IN TERMS OF WHAT THEY'RE RECOMMENDING FOR US TO CONTINUE AND FOR US TO MAKE SURE THAT WE DO NOT REMAIN ON THE RADAR OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL AND TO SHOW THAT WE ARE MAKING GOOD EFFORT TO MAKE IMPROVEMENTS TO OUR WATER AND WASTEWATER INFRASTRUCTURE. UM, HAVING SAID THAT, WE HAVE PLUGGED THIS IN HERE AND, UM, WE WILL CONTINUE TO KEEP IT ON OUR RADAR, UM, TO SEE WHETHER THAT'S, WE HOPE, WE HOPE THAT THAT IS JUST SUFFICIENT TO MEET, UM, THE EXPECTATIONS. AND THIS CONCLUDES THE PART OF ENTERPRISE. DID YOU WANT TO ASK QUESTIONS NOW OR WOULD YOU LIKE ME TO FINISH THE CAPITAL? I'M GONNA GO AHEAD AND LET'S, UM, LET THEM ASK QUESTIONS ON THIS BEFORE WE MOVE ON TO CAPITAL SO THEY CAN GET THEM OUT AND UH, WE CAN GO FROM THERE. I HAVE A LIGHT, UM, COUNCIL MEMBER, FRANK, AND THEN I HAD A QUESTION ON SOMETHING. GOOD. COUNCIL MEMBER. FRANK, YOU HAD YOUR LIGHT ON? YES, I DID. UM, THE ONLY QUESTION I WANTED TO ASK WAS ABOUT THE TURS. WE WERE TALKING ABOUT TURS AND WE'RE TALKING ABOUT GLAD TO SEE THAT MONEY IS GOING, UH, UP IN THE TURS, UH, FOR US. BUT ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE ARE TALKING ABOUT WAS, ARE WE AT THAT PLACE NOW WHERE WE NEED TO HAVE THAT CONVERSATION ABOUT WHETHER OR NOT WE'RE GONNA CREATE ANOTHER TERMS FOR PLEASURE ISLAND OR INCORPORATE PLEASURE OR INCLUDE THAT PLEASURE INCLUDE INTO THE CURRENT YES. TERMS? YES. UM, ARE WE AT THAT PLACE NOW OR IS THAT A CONVERSATION FOR FUTURE? I THINK WE NEED [01:30:01] TO CONTINUE THAT DISCUSSION. WE NEED TO, AS WELL AS, AS WE FORM THE CHARTER COMMITTEE, THERE ARE CERTAIN AMENDMENTS THAT NEEDS TO BE MADE TO THE DESIGNATION OF THE BODY RESPONSIBLE OR WORKING WITH THE DIRECTOR OF THE OF PLEASURE ISLAND. I THINK WE NEED TO PUT THAT TO REST AS WELL, UH, WHEN THE CHARTER COMMITTEE COMES, IF WITH RECOMMENDATIONS. AND AS WELL, I THINK WE NEED TO LOOK AT THE POSSIBILITY OF CONTINUING OUR DISCUSSION. I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE CONSIDER IT FOR PLEASURE ISLAND SINCE PLEASURE ISLAND IS AN ENTERPRISE FUND, YOU KNOW, BUT I, I WOULD RECOMMEND AND WE COULD GO TO THE EXPERTSS FOR THAT YOU FOR TO AVOID THE COMMINGLING OF FUNDS. YOU KNOW, WE DO IT SEPARATELY AS AN ENTERPRISE FUND, YOU KNOW, DO TREASURE ISLAND SEPARATELY AS AN ENTERPRISE FUND. UM, IT PROVIDES US WITH AN OPPORTUNITY, UM, TO GO OUT THERE FOR CERTIFICATES OF OBLIGATION AND TO COMMIT A CERTAIN PORTION OF THAT, UM, TO DEBT, UM, FOR CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS FOR PLEASURE ISLAND. OKAY, THANKS. SO YOU'RE SAYING NOT TO INCLUDE IT IN THE CURRENT TURS, ARE YOU RECOMMEND? YEAH, BUT ACTUALLY BECAUSE, BECAUSE IF WE THOUGHT ABOUT INCLUDING IT IN THE TURS WOULD MAKE THE TURS GIVE US MORE SPACE AND TO OPERATE IN THE, UM, IN THAT TURS AREA BY INCLUDING IT. SO YOU, I WANNA MAKE SURE I UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU'RE SAYING. NOT MAKING A SEPARATE TURS LIKE A SECOND ONE. YEAH, MAKE A, MAKE IT A SECOND ONE. SEEING THAT IT'S AN ENTERPRISE FUND. UM, MAKE IT A SECOND ONE AND, UM, NOT INCLUDE WITH THE CURRENT AND THE CURRENT TURS IN THE CURRENT WELL I LIKE TO SEE THE BENEFITS OF THAT BEFORE WE, WE DO THAT. ABSOLUTELY. YEAH. MAKING IT SEPARATE AND NOT INCLUDE EXPANDING WHAT WE CURRENTLY HAVE. UM, THE AREA STRETCHING THAT AREA OUT TO, WELL, WE'VE JUST TALKED ABOUT THAT FOR THE LAST TWO OR THREE YEARS, HOW TO EXTEND IT, WHAT WE CURRENTLY HAVE OUT TO PLEASURE ISLAND VERSUS IT BEING A SEPARATE TERMS SEPARATE. SO, UH, YEAH, IF WE COULD LOOK AT THOSE, WE WILL, THOSE, UH, BENEFITS FOR THAT. AND I HAVE A, A QUESTION ON THE INSURANCE. WE ARE, WE'VE BEEN SELF-INSURED AS LONG AS I KNOW SINCE 8, 19 88 OR, UH, 1990 FOR SURE. SO THE INSURANCE RATES THAT WE GO OUT FOR EVERY YEAR, DOC, UH, WHAT ARE WE LOOKING AT THE INCREASE FOR THIS YEAR WITH THAT INSURANCE PROVIDE THE THIRD PARTY THAT PROVIDES US OUR HEALTH INSURANCE MAYOR, WE HAVEN'T FINALIZED THE RATES YET. UH, BOTH OUR CONSULTANTS AND UH, BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD ARE WORKING WITH THE UNDERWRITERS AND SO WE, WE ORIGINALLY WERE APPROACHED WITH DOUBLE DIGIT INCREASES, BUT WE BELIEVE THAT THOSE ARE GONNA BE SUCCESSFULLY BROUGHT DOWN. ONE OF THE KEY THINGS ABOUT THE INCREASE IS THAT THESE INCREASES ARE NOT DRIVEN BY, UH, THE PLAN UTILIZATION, BUT THEY'RE DRIVEN BY THE MARKET AND MARKET INCREASES. SO WE'RE HOPING TO BE ABLE TO GET THOSE NUMBERS DOWN BECAUSE OF THAT. OKAY. ALRIGHT. BUT ANXIOUS LOOKING, WE'RE GONNA GET THAT BEFORE, I'M SURE BEFORE THE BUDGET. YEAH. ALRIGHT. UM, MAYOR PRO, TIM, KEN LAW. THANK YOU MAYOR. UH, UH, RON, I THINK YOUR, YOUR APARTMENT HEADS, AGAIN GOING INTO RIGHT DIRECTION. UH, I KNOW WE'VE HADN'T HAD, UH, INCREASES IN THE LANDFILL IN A LONG TIME. I THINK THAT WE REALLY NEED TO KIND OF PUT THE BURDEN BACK UP ON THOSE, UH, ENTITIES LIKE THAT, ESPECIALLY ENTERPRISE FUNDS THAT'S ACTUALLY SUPPOSED TO MAKE MONEY AND BENEFITS THE CITY. UH, I DO WANNA POINT OUT THE PLEASURE ALLEN BUDGET. UH, I THINK GEORGE IS, IS ON THE RIGHT, UH, PATH WHEN HE'S REDUCING LEASE BALANCES. I KNOW WE'VE HAD THAT TYPE OF SITUATION IN THE PAST. I BOUGHT IT UP BEFORE COUNCIL, UH, IF, YOU KNOW, UH, IF YOU OWE THE CITY, YOU GOTTA PAY, UH, JUST LIKE ANYTHING ELSE. AND THEN SOMETIMES, UH, WE FOUND OUT, UH, THE CURRENT COUNCIL FOUND OUT WE'VE HAD SITUATIONS WHERE THEY'VE OWED THE CITY, YOU KNOW, 15, 12,000, 8,000. THAT'S UNFORTUNATE. BUT, YOU KNOW, WE NEED TO DO A BETTER JOB. AND I THINK GEORGE IS ATTACKING, UH, THAT AVENUE, UH, APPROPRIATELY. UH, ALSO I'M READING ON THE, THE PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENTS. UH, WE'RE GOING TO A CATALYST CAST LIST, UH, OPPORTUNITY DOWN THERE. YOU KNOW, HAVING THAT TYPE OF, UH, TEMPTATION. I THINK THAT MOST CITIES AND MOST, UH, BUSINESSES ARE DOING THAT TO KIND OF WEED OUT THAT AND MAKE SURE THAT, YOU KNOW, CREDIT CARDS AS NEW WAY. MM-HMM . YOU TAP NOW, YOU MOVE ON. BUT WE HAVE TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE READY AS AN ENTITY WHEN WE, WE GET TO THAT POINT. ALSO, WATERFRONT PROPERTY WITH THE RV PART, WE NEED TO GET BETTER. AND I, I HEARD YOU SAY IT EARLIER, I AGREE WITH YOU. I THINK THAT, YOU KNOW, WITH ALL THIS IMPROVEMENTS THAT WE'RE GONNA HAVE, I THINK WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE PROMOTING, [01:35:01] MAKING SURE THAT PEOPLE HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY. I KNOW GEORGE GET A LOT OF THE PHONE CALLS. I CALL HIM ALL THE TIME MAKING SURE THAT HEY, WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE IN LINE WITH THE TIMES KEA, ALL THOSE GALSTON, UH, UH, UH, PORTS LIKE THAT, MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT WATERFRONT PROPERTY. I LOVE THE FISH. I LOVE THE FISH. I HAVE A BOAT. AND MY THING IS, IF YOU HAVE IT, IT LOOKS NICE. IT'S NICE YOU GOT RESTROOMS, UPGRADES, I WANT TO COME BACK AND I THINK YOU AND YOUR DIRECTORS DOING THE MOST POSITIVE THING FOR PLEASURE ISLAND. BUT WE, I THINK WE NEED TO DUMP MORE MONEY IN PLEASURE ISLAND IF YOU ASK ME PERSONALLY, BECAUSE THAT'S GONNA BE ONE OF THOSE TOURIST ATTRACTIONS THAT WE CAN SAY, YOU KNOW, PORT ARTHUR, YOU WANT TO GO FISHING, YOU WANT TO GO OUT THERE, YOUR RV, YOU WANT TO DOCK YOUR BOAT, RECOVER YOUR BOAT, ALL THAT GOOD, GOOD THINGS. THAT'S THE OPPORTUNITY. AND I THINK WE'VE ALL KNOWN THAT PLEASURE ISLAND IS A GOLD MINE IN DISGUISE. SO, UH, CONTINUE DOING WHAT YOU'RE DOING, YOU'RE DIRECTOR BACK THERE, BUT WE REALLY NEED TO START FINDING WAYS TO GET INDUSTRY TO WANT TO PUT MONEY BACK INTO PLEASURE ISLAND. THANK YOU MAYOR. BUT MAYOR, THERE ARE TWO THINGS HERE. YOU, YOU RAISED A VERY GOOD POINT. THERE HAS NEVER BEEN MORE ACCOUNTABILITY FOR PLEASURE ISLAND THAN TODAY. IF YOU GO BACK, PLEASURE ISLAND 10 YEARS AGO, THERE WAS LITTLE OR NO ACCOUNTABILITY AS TO WHERE THE MONEY WAS COMING FROM AND WHERE THE MONEY WAS GOING TO TODAY. WE CAN ACCOUNT FOR THE REVENUE THAT COMES IN, WHERE IT GOES AND HOW IT'S BEEN UTILIZED. OKAY. NUMBER TWO, WE HAVE BEEN WORKING VERY CLOSELY WITH THE NAVIGATION DISTRICT TO SEE TO IT THAT A SOURCE OF REVENUE THAT WE WERE SUPPOSED TO HAVE LOST BECAUSE OF THE DEEPENING AND OF THE CHANNEL. THE SHIP CHANNEL IS BACK ON STREAM AND UM, THE PLANS JUST ON FRIDAY I WAS SPEAKING TO A MEMBER OF STAFF. THE PLANS ARE IN, THEY'RE BEING RENEWED, THEY'RE BEING REVIEWED FOR THE REPLACEMENT IS, IS, IS IS GOING TO BE, ALL OF THE PROPERTIES ARE GOING TO BE WATERFRONT PROPERTY. SO WE CAN, WE CAN DEMAND MORE MONEY FOR THAT. JUST, UM, THIS MORNING I WAS HAVING A DISCUSSION WITH THE DIRECTOR AS TO DO THE MARKET ANALYSIS THAT'S NECESSARY OUT THERE TO SEE HOW MUCH THOSE WOULD COST. SO WE WILL SEE A SIGNIFICANT INCREASE IN THE REVENUE THAT'S BEEN GENERATED FOR THOSE PREMIER PAD SITES OUT THERE ON PLEASURE ISLAND. SO I THINK WE ARE ON AN UPWARD TRAJECTORY AS FAR AS PRESSURE ISLAND IS CONCERNED. OKAY. UH, COUNCIL MEMBER JACOBS? YES MA'AM. THANK YOU MAYOR. UM, MAYOR, I NEED A LITTLE HELP UNDERSTANDING THE, UM, THE SOLID WASTE. I KNOW WE HAVE THAT, UM, THE EISG THAT YOU MENTIONED, UH, CITY MANAGER, BUT LOOKING AT, WHAT IS IT? PAGES FIVE AND SEVEN. SO WE SUBSIDIZED, WE SUBSIDIZED, UM, SOLID WAYS WITH 2 MILLION TO GET IT TO WHERE THE BUDGET COULD BALANCE THE 5 MILLION THAT WE ARE ANTICIPATING FOR THE NEW, UM, CERTIFICATES OF OBLIGATION ARE TIED DIRECTLY TO THE LANDFILL EXPANSION. IS THAT SEPARATE FROM THE E-E-I-S-G OR IS THIS INCLUSIVE OF THAT? IT IS COMPLETELY SEPARATE. OKAY. I DON'T HAVE EISG CONTRACT TODAY, SO I'M NOT ACCOUNTING FOR THAT REVENUE TODAY. OKAY. AND SO THANK YOU, UH, MS. BOWELL AND GIVEN MISS, UM, JACOBS, UM, GIVEN THE CURRENT SALE THAT WE NORMALLY USE MM-HMM . TO PUT ALL OUR TRASH IN SOMETIME NEXT YEAR AROUND THAT TIME OR EVEN BEFORE THAT, IT'LL COME TO AN END. THE LIFE OF THAT CELL IS COMING TO AN END. AND SO WHAT WE HAVE BEEN PROACTIVE IN DESIGNING AND ENGINEERING A NEW CELL SO THAT THERE WILL BE CONTINUITY WITHOUT DISRUPTION OF SERVICES OUT THERE TO OUR RESIDENTS AND TO ALL OUR CUSTOMERS. SO THAT'S WHAT WE ARE TALKING ABOUT. RIGHT? SO IF ALL OF THE THINGS EQUAL AT THIS TIME NEXT YEAR, WILL THERE STILL BE A DEFICIT IN THE SOLID WASTE ACCOUNT, IS GONNA DEPEND ON WHAT WE DO WITH THE RATES TO ENSURE THAT THE RATES ARE GOING TO COVER WHAT THEY ACTUALLY ARE SUPPOSED TO BE PAYING AND ALSO THE COVERING OF ALL THE MAINTENANCE AND OPERATIONS AND KEEPING UP WITH THE, THE EQUIPMENT THAT THEY HAVE. AND I BELIEVE THAT THAT IS ONE OF THE DIFFICULTIES IN THE PAST IS WE WOULD HAVE THE TRUCKS THAT WOULD DO THE RESIDENTIAL AND COMMERCIAL [01:40:02] PICKUPS AND THOSE EQUIPMENT WERE NOT BEING, THEY'RE NOT, THEY WEREN'T REALLY ON A SCHEDULE, SO WE JUST KIND OF DROVE THEM TO DEATH UNTIL THEY JUST COULDN'T DO ANYTHING. HOWEVER, NOW WE ACTUALLY HAVE A PLAN. IT'S THREE TO FIVE YEAR PLAN. OKAY, WHAT'S GONNA HAPPEN TO THESE TRUCKS? WHAT ARE WE GOING TO ANTICIPATE WE'RE ACTUALLY FORECASTING IN ADVANCE THAT WAY WE COULD KEEP THIS AND KEEP THE SERVICES UP ON A CONTINUAL BASIS WITHOUT HAVING ANY KIND OF EXCUSE AS TO WHY SOMETHING WOULD BE DOWN. WE SHOULD HAVE ENOUGH VEHICLE EQUIPMENT VEHICLES TO CONTINUE THE SERVICE. AND I KNOW THAT THAT'S ONE OF THE THINGS THE CITIZENS HAD BEEN, I MEAN, IT'S A, A DEFINITE LEGITIMATE COMPLAINT IF YOU'RE NOT GETTING YOUR TRASH PICKED UP RESIDENTIAL AND YET YOU'RE PAYING, WHAT ARE YOU ACTUALLY PAYING FOR? AND I THINK THAT THE STUDY WILL HOPEFULLY SHED MORE LIGHT AS TO WHAT IS ACTUALLY REASONABLE THAT'S GONNA KEEP US GOING AND KEEP IT AT A, A REALLY GREAT LEVEL FOR THE CITIZENS OF PORT ARTHUR. OKAY. UH, HAVING SAID THAT, IF YOU LOOK AT THE CAPITAL EQUIPMENT COMPONENT IN THE BUDGET, WE ARE ORDERING TWO MORE TRUCKS IN SPITE OF THE FACT THAT WE GOT ABOUT EIGHT ALREADY. SO THERE WILL ALWAYS BE EQUIPMENT ON RESERVE WHEN A, A PIECE OF EQUIPMENT BREAKS DOWN. AND AS LYNN SAID, WE HAVE RUN IT INTO THE GROUND IN THE PAST AND, UM, THERE HAS NEVER BEEN ANYTHING ON RESERVE. YOU KNOW, BECAUSE THE TRUCK HAS TO GO INTO THE, INTO THE GARAGE. IT HAS TO BE, TAKES A DAY OR TWO TO BE REPAIRED. YOU'VE GOT TO GO TO HOUSTON TO GET THE PARTS. WE ARE BEING PROACTIVE AS, AS FAR AS THAT IS CONCERNED. UM, THERE'S ANOTHER PART OF IT AND IF I, IF I MAY, I I WANT TO KIND OF QUALIFY OR CLARIFY MY QUESTION JUST A LITTLE BIT. AND, BUT THANK YOU FOR THAT INSIGHT. 'CAUSE THAT IS VERY IMPORTANT. I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT FOR THE CITIZENS TO KNOW THAT AS WELL, UM, THAT THEIR LEVEL OF THOUGHT IS GOING INTO THE, THE KIND OF CAPITAL OUTLAYS FOR SOLID WASTE. BUT IF WE ARE, SO WE'RE SAYING WE'RE GOING FROM PROJECTED REVENUES OF 30 MILLION TO 35 MILLION. SO WITH THAT 35 MILLION, I GUESS IT'S KIND OF A TIMING QUESTION, RIGHT? SO WE'RE SUBSIDIZING, WE'RE GOING INTO THE FISCAL YEAR SUBSIDIZING THIS ACCOUNT BY 2 MILLION, RIGHT? SO ALL OF THE THINGS EQUAL, LET'S SAY NO EQUIPMENT BREAKS DOWN, LET'S SAY RATES STAY THE SAME, RIGHT? WILL WE STILL BE IN A DEFICIT IN THAT ACCOUNT NEXT YEAR NOW THAT THE, WE'VE INCREASED THE REVENUES FROM 30 TO 35? OR WOULD THAT 30, WOULD THAT 3 MILLION RIGHT? KIND OF BE, I DON'T WANNA CALL IT CUSHION, BUT WOULD THAT BE IN EXCESS OF WHAT WE NEED TO OPERATE? IT WOULD NOT BE IN EXCESS OF WHAT WE WOULD NEED TO OPERATE. MM-HMM . IT'S VERY POSSIBLE THAT THE, WE MAY NOT NEED TO SUBSIDIZE TO THE EXTENT THAT WE ARE RIGHT NOW. AND I BELIEVE WE'VE TAKEN THAT INTO CONSIDERATION SINCE I'VE BEEN HERE. I'M NOT GOING TO DRIVE A FUND UNREASONABLY INTO THE GROUND, EVEN THOUGH LEGITIMATELY THEY OUGHT TO PAY THE FAIR SHARE. UH, I'M GOING TO DO WHAT IS GOING TO WORK AND JUST KEEP YOU INFORMED AS TO WHY THIS IS HAPPENING OR WHAT WE'RE DOING IN THE GENERAL FUND. OKAY. NOW, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE NEED TO ADD TO THIS TOO, UM, MS. JACOBS, BEFORE YOU CAME, THERE WAS A SUBSTANTIAL AMOUNT OF, UM, FILL THAT WE GOT FROM THE INDUSTRIES, UM, THAT WAS DOING THE L AND G PLANTS OUT THERE. AND SO THAT DIRT THAT WE GOT FROM THEM, WE WERE CHARGING THEM TO ACTUALLY BRING IT TO THE LANDFILL, BUT WE WAS ALSO PURCHASED IN THE PAST. WE ALSO PURCHASED THAT DIRT TO COVER THE LANDFILL. SO ONCE WE WERE CHARGING THEM, WHAT WE WERE DOING, WHAT WE DID, WE STOCKPILED ALL THAT DIRT FOR THE NEXT 30 YEARS. NOW YOU HAVE SEEN A DECREASE IN THE AMOUNT OF DIRT THAT HAS BEEN COMING INTO THE LANDFILL TREMENDOUSLY BECAUSE THOSE, THE, THE SEMPRAS AND THE PORT LNG ARE, ARE THE PEAK OF CONSTRUCTION. SO THEY'RE NOT DOING ANY OF THAT MUCH EARTH MOVEMENT AT THIS POINT. HOWEVER, WE ARE CONTINUING CONTINUALLY LOOKING AT OTHER OPTIONS THAT WE MAY HAVE. I WAS JUST HAVING A DISCUSSION WITH STAFF LAST WEEK AS TO TWO POTENTIAL SOURCES OF ADDITIONAL, UM, STOCK FOR, FOR ADDITIONAL THAT WE COULD BRING IN. BUT WE ARE GOING TO SIT DOWN AND NEGOTIATE WITH THEM AND PROVIDE A RECOMMENDATION TO COUNCIL TO SEE HOW WE GET THAT IN. BASED ON THE FIGURES THAT I HAVE. WE WILL SEE AN ADDITIONAL INCREASE ABOVE $500,000 IN THIS NEW THEN THAT'S FROM, APART FROM EISG, WE WILL SEE AN ADDITIONAL $500,000 IN REVENUES COMING FROM JUST ONE VENDOR THAT WE ARE LOOKING AT. YOU KNOW, THE OTHER THING THAT WE HAVE DONE AND, AND I WANT TO THANK [01:45:01] DR. BOSWELL FOR THAT. LYNN HAS A DOCTORATE RIGHT NOW, YOU KNOW, SHE JUST GOT CONGRATULATIONS. WOW. CONGRATULATIONS. THE OTHER THING THAT WE HAVE DONE WITH THE HELP OF LYNN IS WE HAVE CHANGED THE FORM OF FINANCING FOR OUR EQUIPMENT THAT WE USE AT THE LANDFILL. BEFORE WE WOULD JUST GO OUTRIGHT AND PURCHASE A, A, A BULLDOZER FOR HALF OF $800,000. AND LYNN HAS BEEN VERY STRATEGIC BASED ON HER EXPERIENCE BECAUSE THESE PIECES OF EQUIPMENT, THE CONDITIONS OUT THERE ARE VERY HARSH ON THE EQUIPMENT. SO WHAT SHE HAS DONE, WE HAVE GONE INTO A LEASING AGREEMENT WITH CATERPILLAR. CATERPILLAR, AND WHEN IT COMES TO, WHEN WE KNOW THAT IT GETS OUT TWO, THREE YEARS, TWO YEARS, MAYBE TWO YEARS, TWO YEARS LEASES, WE SEND IT BACK TO THEM AND THEY SEND A NEW PIECE OF EQUIPMENT TO US. WOW. SO WE DO NOT SPEND $300,000 AT ANY ONE TIME BECAUSE THE SERVICING PART IS ON THEM FOR THE TWO YEAR PERIOD. OKAY. SO WE JUST CONTINUE TO GET THE LANDFILL TO RUN, YOU KNOW, WITHOUT THOSE ADDITIONAL EXPENDITURES THAT WE HAVE UNDERTAKEN IN THE PAST. AND I JUST WANT TO THANK LYNN FOR THAT. AWESOME. ALRIGHT. THANK YOU. OKAY. UM, COUNCIL MEMBER FRANK. ALRIGHT, WELL LET BE THE FIRST TO CALL YOU DR. BOSWELL. THANK YOU SO MUCH. WE ARE BLESSED TO HAVE YOU. YOU HAVE JUST DONE A REALLY TREMENDOUS JOB FOR US HERE AND WE APPRECIATE YOU SO MUCH. I NEVER FAILED TO TELL YOU THAT, BUT CAN YOU PUT UP PAGE NUMBER FIVE ON OUR LITTLE, UM, ON OUR, ON OUR HANDOUT THAT YOU GAVE THE CAPITAL COST BY DEPARTMENTS CONSOLIDATED. OH, WE HAVEN'T GONE THROUGH CAPITAL YET. WE, THIS ONE RIGHT HERE. OH, I'M SORRY. YEAH, SHE'S GONNA DO IT AFTER THE QUESTIONS. OH, OKAY. ALRIGHT. YEAH, CAPITAL. ALRIGHT. WE HAVEN'T DONE IT JUST YET. OKAY. THAT'S, THAT'S FINE. OKAY. WE WERE JUST DOING THOSE ENTERPRISE FUNDS AND I, I TOOK QUESTIONS. NOW WE'RE GONNA GO TO CAPITAL. I STOPPED HER FROM GOING TO CAPITAL TO YOUR LAST QUESTION. OKAY, THAT'S FINE. WOULD THE MAYOR COUNCIL MEMBERS LIKE TO SPEAK WITH ANY OF THE DIRECTORS ASSOCIATED WITH THE ENTERPRISE? WOULD YOU HAVE ANY FURTHER QUESTIONS FOR THEM? I DON'T. OKAY, COUNSEL? NO. OKAY. I HAVE SOME, UH, AUDIENCE QUESTIONS. UH, MR. UH, MR. DOUCETTE, IS IT, IS IT NOT WORKING? CAN WE HOPE THE BATTERY HADN'T GONE DOWN? IT'S WORKING. I HEAR YOU. I HEARD SOMETHING. COME ON. OOPS. HAROLD IS AT 51 80 CAMBRIDGE STREET. I HAVE A QUESTION. THE FIRST ONE, DEALING WITH THE, UH, NEW POSITIONS, UH, THAT WERE TALKED ABOUT. WE TALKED ABOUT, UH, DISTINGUISHING BETWEEN RECLASSIFIED AND NEW POSITIONS. THAT'S SOMETHING THAT I'VE TALKED ABOUT EVERY TIME EVERY YEAR. AND WE TALKED ABOUT RECLASSIFYING POSITIONS AND WE GONNA SAVE FROM ADDING A POSITION. EVERY POSITION THAT IS RECLASSIFIED THAT I'VE KNOWN AND I'VE ALWAYS COMPLAINED ABOUT FOR YEARS, WE ALWAYS RECLASSIFY THE POSITION GOES UP WITH ANOTHER RATE. AND WHAT WE END UP HAVING THE PEOPLE THAT ARE WORKING ON THE GROUND, THEY MOVE UP AND WE START CREATING THESE SUPERVISORY POSITIONS. AND IF YOU GO BACK AND LOOK AT YOUR, UH, PERSONNEL ORGANIZATION OVER THE YEARS, YOU'RE GONNA FIND THAT'S WHAT'S HAPPENING IN THE DEPARTMENTS. YOU, YOU RATING THEM HIGHER, YOU PAY 'EM MORE MONEY, BUT WHO'S DOING THE WORK? AND, UH, THESE POSITIONS, I LIKE TO KNOW EXACTLY WHICH ONES, I'LL GO BACK THROUGH THE BUDGET, BUT THAT SHOULD BE PART OF THE, UH, BUDGET PROCESS WITH, SO CITIZENS CAN UNDERSTAND WHAT'S OUR JUSTIFICATION FOR RECLASSIFYING AND GIVING THESE POSITION HIGHER RATE AND STUFF, AND WHO'S GONNA DO THE WORK WHEN THEY START SUPERVISING. AND BEING ABLE TO DISTINGUISH HOW MANY PEOPLE TODAY WE'VE DONE A GOOD JOB OF ONE, BUT I, UH, ALL DEPARTMENTS AND I LOOKED AT THE BUDGET [01:50:01] ON, ON THE WEBSITE, THAT PAGE WAS KIND OF BLURRY. WAS IT JUST, AND I COULDN'T DISTINGUISH POSITIONS THAT WERE, UH, RECLASSIFIED. IS THERE ANY DISTINCTION WHERE CITIZENS AND EVERYBODY CAN KNOW WHAT POSITION WE ARE RECLASSIFYING AS OPPOSED TO THOSE THAT, UH, WE ADDING? SO THAT WAS JUST FOR PERSONNEL BECAUSE I SEE WHERE WE CONSTANTLY MOVING AWAY FROM THE PEOPLE THAT ARE WORKING AND GETTING SUPERVISORS, BUT I DON'T SEE THE WORKERS. OKAY. UH, I HAD ALSO FEES, YOU KNOW, WE TALK ABOUT FEES, UH, AND IT SEEMED LIKE ALL FEES ARE BEING INCREASED AND, UH, THAT'S NORMALLY WHAT HAPPENS WHEN WE HAVE INFLATIONS AND EVERYTHING. SO WE COULD TALK ABOUT INCREASING, BUT WHAT ABOUT DECREASING SOMETHING? UH, I'VE HEARD US KEEP TALKING ABOUT EVERYTHING IS INCREASE, INCREASE, INCREASE. WHAT HAVE WE LOOKED AT TO TRY TO DECREASE OPERATIONS AND STUFF? THE TEARS DETER PROGRAM. NOW THAT ONE, I LIKE EVERYTHING WE'RE TALKING ABOUT, BUT I HEAR THINGS LIKE, WE NEED TO GET A PLAN. WE GOING TO GET A COMPANY TO COME IN OR SOMEBODY COME IN AND GIVE US A PLAN FOR DOWNTOWN. THE TERRY'S GOT A DOWNTOWN PLAN. THE A DC HAS A DOWNTOWN PLAN FOR REVITALIZATION, AND THIS CITY HAS A DOWNTOWN REVITALIZATION PLAN. ONE PLACE WE PAYING PEOPLE TO DO PLANS. WHY WON'T EVERYBODY WORK TOGETHER ON OUR ONE PLAN AND, AND GET IT DONE? WHY DO THE CITIZENS HAVE TO KEEP PAYING THE DIFFERENT ENTITIES TO DO STUDIES OF THE SAME AREA? WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT DECREASING MONEY, THAT'S HOW WE SAVE MONEY. STOP THE DUPLICATION. SO THAT'S SOMETHING I THINK, UH, WE NEED TO LOOK AT WITH ALL THESE PLANS FOR THE SAME AREA. THIS IS ONE CITY. EVERYBODY GOTTA WORK TOGETHER. WHAT ARE UTILITIES? I'M JUST SAID BRIEFLY. WE ALWAYS WANT MONEY FOR WATER UTILITIES. WE ALWAYS SAY WE PUT THIS MUCH MONEY INTO WATER UTILITIES FOR THIS YEAR. WE GONNA REPLACE THESE NUMBER OF THESE FEET OF PIPE. BUT IS IT A PLAN? WHICH PIPES WE GONNA REPLACE? AND DID WE REPLACE THEM? DID WE DO IT? BECAUSE ALL I'VE BEEN SAYING IS WE PUT THE MONEY IN THERE FOR THE PIPES AND, AND EVERYTHING AND THE ONLY ONES WE REPLACE IS THE ONES THAT KEEP BUSTING. WELL, WE'RE NOT GONNA REPLACE 'EM OVER OVERNIGHT. $50 MILLION AND WE TALKING ABOUT A BUDGET, WE'RE GONNA PUT THIS MUCH IN WILD UTILITIES. WHAT IS IT GONNA GO TO? WHEN WE ASKED ABOUT WHERE THE MONEY IS GONNA GO, THAT'S WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR AS CITIZENS. WHAT SPECIFICALLY ARE WE GONNA DO WITH THIS MONEY? BECAUSE WHEN YOU ALL TELL US, THAT'S HOW WE GONNA KEEP UP WITH IF WE ARE DOING IT. SO WE, DURING THE BUDGET WE TALK ABOUT 50 MILLION. I HEARD IT MENTIONED, I DON'T KNOW HOW MANY TIMES, BUT HOW MUCH MONEY, WHAT SPECIFICALLY IS IT GONNA BE USED FOR? THANK YOU. OKAY, MS. UH, GLORIA SANCHEZ. GLORIA SANCHEZ IS 6 2 5 JADE AVENUE, PORT ARTHUR, TEXAS. YEAH, I HAVE A QUESTION. UM, ON THE BUDGET, 20 26, 20 27 BUDGET, I SEE THE WATER AND SEWER BUDGET AND I SEE THE, UM, WE GONNA HAVE SOME, UM, MONEY AVAILABLE ON IT. UM, FOR YEARS, WHAT OUR RESIDENT HAS BEEN TOLD, THE WATER AND SEWER RATE NEED TO BE INCREASED BECAUSE FRUSTRATION IS OLD ON THE GROUND. PIPES ARE BREAKING AND SEEDING IT MONEY TO REPAIR AND REPLACE THE SYSTEM. WE ALREADY KNOW THAT THE SPEECH FOR MR. HONEY, TO ME, HE NEED 30 YEARS FOR 30, 30 MILLIONS FOR 30 YEARS TO BE ABLE TO REPLACE THE PIPES. AND NOW I SEE THE BUDGET AND I UNDERSTAND, UM, [01:55:01] THE MONEY, THE REPAIR NEEDS AND COSTS MONEY BY WHAT I DON'T UNDERSTAND IS WHY RESIDENT HAS BEEN ASKED TO PAY HIGH WATER BILLS, MILLIONS, THE DOLLAR OF WATER AND SEWER FUNDS BUDGET TO TRANSFER IN DEBIT SERVICE, ADMINISTRATION AND ANOTHER USER AND NOT PUT IT BACK INTO THE PIPES. THEY NEED TO BE REPLACED. ACCORDING WITH THE 26 27 WATER BUDGET BUDGET, I'M SORRY, THE TOTAL REVENUE, UM, TRANSFER IS 44,000,825, $306. THE DIRECT OPERATION EXPENSES IS 32 MILLIONS, A HUNDRED AND NINETY TWO ZERO FIFTY NINE TRANSFER. AND ANOTHER EXPENSES. WE TRANSFER $12,633,247. THAT'S MEAN APPROXIMATELY 28% OF THE WATER AND SEWER BUDGET ARE CATEGORIZED, UH, TRANSFERRED IN ANOTHER EXPENSES RATED THE DIRECTED TO OPERATION EXPENSES. I DON'T KNOW IF THIS IS CORRECT OR NOT, BUT I WOULD LIKE TO CLARIFICATION. AND IT'S NOT, AND I WOULD LIKE TO EXPLANATIONS. 5 MILLION A HUNDRED AND OH SEVEN SIX HUNDRED AND SIXTY SIX IS GOING TO DEVINS O AND ACCORDING WITH I GOT IT FROM THE PAPERS BECAUSE I KNOW THEY STILL CHANGING THOSE PAPERS. THREE MILLIONS, 352 7 80 IS GOING TO 2020 BC DAVID SIX HUNDRED AND TWENTY SIX FIVE FIVE ZERO WATER AND SEWER PORTION GO TO 2025 C DAVID AND 3 27 1 50 IS GOING TO SEWER AND SOUR PORTION. 2023 C DAVID, IF THIS IS CORRECT, LIKE I SAID, I REALLY DON'T KNOW. THOSE NUMBER DOESN'T MATCH. IT'S ONLY A TOTAL FOR $4,000,303 480,000. THE BUDGET AND WATER SERVICE SHOWS 5 MILLION A HUNDRED AND OH 7 686. WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE OF THIS MONEY GOING? I HAVE 801,206 DIFFERENT ON IT. IF AGAIN, IF THIS IS CORRECT, THIS PAYMENT INCLUDED, INCLUDED IN THE 5 MILLION 107,666 WATER AND SILVER DEBIT SERVICE TRANSFER IS GOING TO, UM, IT SEEMS PROJECT FOR WATER AND SERVICE AGAIN. AND THE SAME IS 2,000,037, I'M SORRY, TWO AND 2,000,030 7,000 MILLIONS GOING TO GENERAL FUND EXACTLY IS 2,000,371. 6 37 IS TRANSFERRED TO THE GENERAL FUND ADMINISTRATION. LET ME CONTINUE. 133 TAX IS GOING TO COLLECTIONS. IF THAT MAKE A TOTAL FOR 2 MILLION FIVE HUNDRED AND FIVE SIXTY THREE $7 WAS SERVICE IN THE GENERAL FORM PROHIBIT TO WATER AND SEWER IS EXCHANGED FOR APPROXIMATELY $2.5 MILLION. PLEASE PROHIBIT THE CALCULATION, USE IT TO THE TERM THE 200, THE 2 MILLION THREE HUNDRED AND SEVENTY ONE SIX THIRTY SEVEN ADMINISTRATION CHARGE AND WHY WE DON'T PUT THIS MONEY BACK INTO THE PIPES. WHY IS MOST, UM, IF THE CITY CONTINUES INCREASE RESIDENT WATER AND SEWER BILLS? BECAUSE WE ARE TOLD THAT AGAIN, ON, ON THE GROUND INFRASTRUCTURE NEEDS, NEEDS MILLIONS OF DOLLARS TO BE REPAIRED WHILE ADDING WE PUTTING MORE MONEY INTO THE WATER AND SEWER AND REPAIR THIS AND REPLACE THESE PIPES. EXCUSE ME, MS. SANCHEZ, I THINK YOU HAVE FIVE MINUTES. YOUR TIME IS UP. OKAY. OKAY. I CAN COME BACK ANOTHER DAY. DON'T WORRY. CAN SOMEONE ANSWER MY QUESTION OR NO? THEY'RE NOT. NO ANSWER, NO QUESTION TODAY. OH, THANK. OKAY. THEY CAN ANSWER, RIGHT? SOMEBODY GOT THEM. I ACTUALLY, MY CONS, MY QUESTION IS FOR COUNCILS, WHY WE ARE NOT PUTTING BACK MONEY INTO THE PIPES? SEE, WE NEED IT. YOU COLLECT MORE MONEY FOR US EVERY TIME ASKING US BECAUSE WE NEED TO REPLACE THE PIPES AND WE DON'T PUT THE MONEY BACK INTO THE PIPES. WHAT IS GOING ON? COUNCILS, OH, YOU HAVE A WATER ON HERE, COUNCIL MEMBER FRANK. WE ARE. MM-HMM [02:00:01] . WE ARE MRS. SANCHEZ. WE ARE PUTTING MONEY BACK INTO THE PIPES. WE ARE, THE MINDSET OF THE COUNCIL HAS BEEN, UM, CHANGED OVER PREVIOUS YEARS. UM, I, I HEAR, UM, INDIVIDUALS COME TO THE DAIS, UH, AS THEY HAVE THOSE CONCERNS. UM, AND ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE HAVE TO UNDERSTAND IS, IS THAT FOR SO LONG, THE, THE, THE MINDSET AND THE MENTALITY, THE PHILOSOPHY OF THE COUNCIL WAS NOT TO INCREASE THE RATES FOR CITIZENS HERE IN THE CITY OF PORT ARTHUR. AND IT WAS TO THE TUNE OF, UM, $54 MILLION OVER A PERIOD OF TIME THAT WE DID NOT INCREASE THE RATES. WE WERE TAKING THE MONEY OUT OF THE GENERAL FUND. AND WE'VE SAID THAT OVER AND OVER AND OVER AGAIN. WE WEREN'T INCREASING THE RATES. AND THEN EVEN AS I'VE SAT HERE ON THE DAYS, I'VE SAID REPEATEDLY THAT THE CALVARY WASN'T COMING. THAT WE WERE GOING TO HAVE TO BITE THE BULLET, THAT WE WERE GONNA HAVE TO INCREASE THE RATE. AND STAFF CAME AND ASKED FOR A 7% INCREASE AND THE COUNCIL DID NOT VOTE FOR THAT 7% INCREASE AT THE TIME AND ONLY VOTED FOR A 5.5% INCREASE THAT DID NOT GET THE JOB DONE. AND THEN WHAT ULTIMATELY HAPPENED AND TRANSPIRED WAS WE HAD TO GET A WATER RATE SURVEY DONE, AND THEN TCEQ CAME AND TOLD US THAT WE HAD TO INCREASE THE RATE TO 20%. SO THE RATE WAS NOT PUT ON US BY THE DAY AND BY THE COUNCIL. IT WAS PUT ON US BY TCEQ WHO TOLD US WE HAD TO INCREASE OUR RATE. AND EVEN WHEN WE DID THAT, WE PUT THE BURDEN OF THE INCREASE ON BUSINESSES AND NOT THE CITIZENS. WE GAVE OUR SENIOR CITIZENS A RATE REDUCTION DECREASE, DID NOT INCREASE THE WATER RATE FOR OUR SENIOR CITIZENS, BUT RAISE THE RATE TO 11% FOR OUR BUSINESSES IN THE CITY. SO WE HAVE DONE EVERYTHING THAT WE CAN NOT TO PUT THE BURDEN ON INDIVIDUALS. THE MAYOR TOLD ME TO WAIT, AND I AM FOLLOWING THE LEADERSHIP OF OUR MAYOR. BUT WHEN WE GET TO LOOKING AT THE CAPITAL COSTS BY DIVISIONS OF OUR CITY, THERE'S GOING TO BE A, A SLIDE THAT WILL SHOW WHERE WE HAVE PUT MONEY IN OUR CAPITAL SPENDING IN THE CITY OF PORT ARTHUR, AND WE ARE CHARGED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE TAKE CARE OF PUBLIC HEALTH AND SAFETY. THOSE ARE OUR RESPONSIBILITIES, MS. SANCHEZ, OUR MAJOR RESPONSIBILITIES. AND WHEN WE GET TO THAT PAGE, YOU'LL SEE THAT THE CAPITAL AMOUNT OF OUR EXPENDITURES IS ON PUBLIC HEALTH AND IT WILL SHOW AS WELL ON STREETS. THOSE ARE THE THINGS THAT PEOPLE HAVE BEEN TALKING ABOUT. THOSE ARE THE THINGS THAT CITIZENS WANT TO SEE. AND WHEN WE LOOK AT THAT CAPITAL OUTLAY, WHEN WE LOOK AT THOSE CAPITAL COSTS BY DIVISION, YOU WILL SEE THAT THAT, THAT THE, THAT THE PREDOMINANCE OF THE MONEY HAS BEEN SPENT ON WHAT YOU HAVE JUST ADDRESSED. WE ARE SPENDING MONEY ON IT. WE ARE DOING WHAT YOU ARE SUGGESTING THAT WE NEED TO DO. THANK YOU. AND, AND NOT TO MENTION AND TO ADD ON TO WHAT, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER FRANK HAS SAID, WHEN I CAME ON BOARD AS, UM, MAYOR LAST YEAR, NOT ONLY WERE THE WATER RATES, WE HAD TO DO A 20% INCREASE BECAUSE IT HAD NOT BEEN DONE ON TCE Q'S VIOLATION, BUT WE WERE BEING SUED BY THE TEXAS ATTORNEY GENERAL AND, AND, AND THEN TOLD THAT IF WE DIDN'T VOTE FOR IT, INCREASE, I THINK MR. MR. DOUCETTE HERE AND A WITNESS TO THAT, THAT'S WHY WE ALL VOTED UNANIMOUSLY TO BE ABLE TO VOTE FOR THAT INCREASE WHILE HE WAS HERE ON COUNCIL, IS THAT WE WOULD BE SENT TO JAIL AS COUNCIL MEMBERS. AND IT WAS SAID IN THE MEETING THAT WE WOULD BE ARRESTED. AM I NOT, UH, TELLING THE TRUTH, UH, THE CITY ATTORNEY THAT WE, IF WE, AND WE HAD A PRESENTATION HERE BY THE, UM, WATER RATE, UH, GROUP OF PEOPLE WHO TOLD US THAT WAS VERY SERIOUS AND BY THE TEXAS ATTORNEY GENERAL, WE, WE WERE IN A SERIOUS CONDITION AND THAT THIS, WE, WE HAD TO COMPLY, UM, WITH, UM, THE RECOMMENDED, UM, WE HAD NO CHOICE IS FROM WHAT I UNDERSTAND, THE COUNCIL MEMBERS, AM I BY MYSELF OR NO? I OH, WE ARE ALONE. WE ARE HERE. YOU, YOU'RE, YOU'RE EXACTLY, YOU'RE EXACTLY RIGHT, MAYOR. AND MAY I? YES, BECAUSE BECAUSE YOU ARE EXACTLY RIGHT. AND, AND, AND, AND, AND SO I HAD TO BE BROUGHT UP TO DATE AND I THINK THAT IT'S, YOU GUYS HAD BEEN HERE [02:05:01] AND YOU ALREADY KNEW WHAT WE WERE FACING. I CAME INTO KNOWING WHAT WE WERE FACING. TPQ GAVE US NO CHOICE BUT TO DO THE WATER RATE INCREASE. NO CHOICE. WE HAD NO CHOICE. AND THAT WAS THE THING THAT I THINK IS, IS STRIKING TO ME, IS THAT WE HAD A, WE HAD AN OPPORTUNITY AS A COUNCIL BECAUSE WE WERE GIVEN INFORMATION FOR STAFF TO DO 7% AND WE WOULDN'T DO IT. BUT THEN WHEN WE GOT TO 20%, EVERYBODY NOW HAS AN AWAKENING. IT'S AN EPIPHANY. AND IT WAS A 20% INCREASE. IT'S A 20% INCREASE, BUT WE WOULDN'T DO A 7% INCREASE WHEN WE WERE TOLD AND ASKED TO DO IT BY STAFF. BUT NOW IT JUST SEEMS AS THOUGH THAT, THAT THAT VANISHES NOW. AND PEOPLE, YOU KNOW, SO I, I DON'T UNDERSTAND. AND IT WAS A UNANIMOUS VOTE. WE CAN PULL UP THE, OR WE CAN PULL UP THAT, UH, VOTE THAT WE HAD. IT WAS UNANIMOUS ACROSS THE BOARD FOR EVERY COUNCIL MEMBER HERE WHEN WE VOTED FOR THAT 20% INCREASE IN FEBRUARY OF THIS YEAR. OKAY. SO THAT'S, THAT'S THE EXPLANATION MS. SANCHEZ, THAT YOU'LL LOOKING FOR. YES. UM, COUNCIL MEMBER JACOB? YES, MA'AM. THANK YOU MAYOR. AND I, I JUST WANNA SHARE SOMETHING WITH ALL WHO ARE HERE AS WELL AS ANYONE WHO MAY BE VIEWING ONLINE OR MAY VIEW ONLINE. SUBSEQUENTLY, I'M NEW TO COUNCIL, RIGHT? I'VE BEEN HERE FOR MAYBE TWO MONTHS AT THIS POINT. AND I HAVE OBVIOUSLY SAT IN SEVERAL MEETINGS, WHETHER THEY BE PUBLIC OR EXECUTIVE, AND HAVE COME TO LEARN OF THE SAME FACTS THAT WERE VERY ELOQUENTLY EXPRESSED JUST NOW BY, UM, COUNCILMAN FRANK AND ECHOED BY, UH, MAYOR MOSES. THESE ARE MY PERSONAL THOUGHTS. WE HAVE TO DEAL IN REALITY, WHEN YOU HAVE AGING INFRASTRUCTURE, OLD PIPES, OLD STREETS, THERE COMES A DAY WHEN YOU HAVE TO REPLACE THEM. NOW IT SEEMS AS THOUGH COUNCIL HAS TRIED TO WORK IN THE BEST INTEREST OF CITIZENS KNOWING, UH, MANY THE, THE FINANCIAL AND ECONOMIC PLIGHT OF MANY PEOPLE IN THIS CITY. BUT WE STILL HAVE TO MAINTAIN OUR INFRASTRUCTURE. AND SO KICKING A CAN DOWN THE ROAD DOES NOT MAKE THE CAN DISAPPEAR. SO HERE WE ARE, AB BITING THE BULLET. I THINK EVERYONE IN HERE HAS EXPERIENCED WHEN THESE WATER MAINS BREAK AND EVERYONE'S ON A BOIL WATER NOTICE, I UNFORTUNATELY EXPERIENCED THAT TO THE 10TH DEGREE BECAUSE THERE ARE 8,000 CHILDREN IN THE LOCAL SCHOOL DISTRICT THAT ARE WITHIN MY CARE WHEN THERE'S NO WATER. AND SO IT'S, IT'S EITHER YOU DO OR YOU DON'T. AND WE ARE AT THE POINT WHERE WE HAVE TO, IT'S NOT EVEN A DO, IT'S YOU HAVE TO BECAUSE YES, WE HAVE BEEN SUED BY THE ATTORNEY GENERAL. YES. WE HAVE, UH, ALLOCATED FUNDS WHICH ARE CURRENTLY IN, UM, IN PROCESS ON PROJECTS TO INCREASE, UM, EXCUSE ME, TO IMPROVE OUR, UH, SEWER AND WASTEWATER PLANT TREATMENT PLANTS. THIS IS ALL TOWARDS THE IMPROVEMENT OF THE INFRASTRUCTURE. SO YES, PEOPLE CAN POINT FINGERS, BUT THE POINTING FINGERS IS HONESTLY TWO DECADES LATE. IT'S TWO DECADES LATE. WE'RE IN 2026. AND AS MUCH AS I DON'T WANT MY WATER RATES TO INCREASE, WE HAVE TO DO SOMETHING BECAUSE THE INFRASTRUCTURE AROUND US IS CRUMBLING. THAT LEADS TO CONTAMINATION IN YOUR WATER. AND THEN IT ALSO, IT LEADS TO INTERRUPTIONS OF SERVICE, WHICH I THINK WE CAN ALL AGREE. WE'VE EXPERIENCED QUITE A BIT OF OVER THE PAST TWO YEARS. AND SO I KNOW THIS IS NOT GONNA DEAD. ALL OF THE QUESTIONS THAT ARE OUT THERE, A LOT OF THE CONCERNS. BUT AT SOME POINT WE HAVE TO UNDERSTAND AND COMMIT AS A CITY COUNCIL CITIZENRY AND ALL OF THE ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF AT THE CITY OF PORT ARTHUR THAT WE HAVE TO MOVE FORWARD. UNFORTUNATELY, LOOKING OUT FOR THE BEST, UM, LOOKING OUT FOR THE BEST, WHAT WE THOUGHT WAS THE BEST FOR CITIZENS IS WHAT LANDED US HERE. WE HAVE TO DEAL IN REALITY, PRICES OF SERVICES GO UP AND WE HAVE TO FOLLOW THAT. OTHERWISE, YOU END UP IN A POSITION WHERE YOU HAVE TO NOW INCREASE YOUR RAISE BY 20%. AND YES, IT IS A HARD BULLET TO, UH, TO BUY IT. HOWEVER, IT MAY NOT ALWAYS BE THAT WAY. RIGHT. SUBSEQUENT YEARS. BUT RIGHT NOW, THIS IS JUST IT. WE HAVE TO FACE THE MUSIC AND THIS IS WHAT THE MUSIC SOUNDS LIKE. THANK YOU. ALRIGHT, THANK YOU. LET ME JUST SHARE WHAT, YES. ABOUT EIGHT YEARS AGO WE DID A RED, A WATER RATE STUDY. OH YEAH. 2020. WE DID NOT FULLY IMPLEMENT IN 2020. YES. I REMEMBER 2019. I'M SORRY THAT COVID CAME. YES. AND WE DECIDED WE ARE NOT GOING TO PUT THE BURDEN ON THE CITIZENS. HOWEVER, COUNCIL WENT EVEN FURTHER AND THERE WAS A, A READY TO SERVE FEE THAT WE CHARGED $5 AND 50 CENTS. COUNCIL REMOVED IT. YEAH. [02:10:01] I REMEMBER IF WE HAD NOT REMOVED THAT SERVICE FEE, WE WOULD BE FAR AHEAD TODAY THAN WHERE WE WERE. OH, I'VE, BUT WE MADE THAT DECISION. IT WAS A COUNCIL DECISION TO REMOVE THE READY TO SERVE FEE. YEAH. AND I REGRET IT. AND SO WE SLOWLY BURIED THE UTILITIES DEPARTMENT UNDER 12 FEET OF DUTY. WE SLOWLY AND DELIBERATELY DID IT. RIGHT. UM, MR. DOUCETTE. YEAH. OKAY. HAROLD DOUCETTE, 51 80 CAMBRIDGE STREET. I VOTED FOR THE INCREASE. I KNOW WE HAVE TO HAVE AN INCREASE. I KNOW THAT INFLATION GOES, I RENTED EARLY. I'M FAR INCREASES, BUT I ENCOURAGE ALL CITIZENS TO READ THE LAWSUIT THAT THE ATTORNEY GENERAL HAD PLACED ON THE CITY. ALL IT DID IS GIVE US, WELL, WE HAVE TO HAVE A PLAN. IT DOESN'T SAY WE GOING TO JAIL. IT DOESN'T SAY WE GOING TO GET ARRESTED. I, AND IT DOESN'T TELL US WE HAVE TO RAISE THIS AMOUNT OF INCREASE, BUT IT TELLS US WE HAVE TO HAVE A PLAN AND WE MUST BE DOING THAT PLAN. I VOTED FOR IT, BUT LET'S NOT SAY WE GOING TO GET ARRESTED. DON'T SAY THEY TOLD US WE HAVE TO HAVE THIS INCREASE. OH YES. YOU KNOW, I JUST WANT, AND CITIZENS, THAT LAWSUIT, YOU COULD GOOGLE IT, YOU COULD LOOK AT IT. SO LET'S TELL IT LIKE IT IS. LET'S NOT BLOW IT UP. BUT WE NEED INCREASES. BUT WE MUST KEEP THINGS IN PERSPECTIVE AND WE MUST JUSTIFY THE INCREASE. THAT'S WHAT WE ASK CITIZENS TO HAVE. THANK YOU. ALRIGHT. UH, CA UM, MR. HA, DR. DR. HANEY AND WE WERE TOLD IN, UH, THAT WE WERE GONNA GO TO JAIL. I'M SO SORRY. IT'S THE TRUTH. I KNOW. I DIDN'T MAKE THAT UP. . GOOD MORNING, MAYOR AND COUNCIL. GOOD MORNING. JUST BRIEFLY, 'CAUSE MY NAME WAS MENTIONED, IF THE MAYOR AND COUNCIL AND THE CITY FOLLOWED THE ADVICE I GAVE THEM FOR EIGHT YEARS, THIS PLAN WOULD HAVE BEEN IN PLACE. WE WOULD NOT BE RIGHT NOW, FACING THE ATTORNEY GENERAL AND WE WOULD NOT BE SPENDING HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS ON ATTORNEYS ALONE. MM-HMM . SO, AND WE WOULD NOT BE HAVING TO HAVE A 20% INCREASE IN ONE YEAR LIKE WE HAD TO DO. MM-HMM . EVERY PENNY THAT THE UTILITIES DEPARTMENT SPEND, FIRST OF ALL IS IN THE CAPITAL PROGRAM LISTED PROJECT BY PROJECT. SECONDLY, IT'S NOT SPENT UNTIL WE COME BACK TO COUNCIL WITH A CONTRACT, WHETHER ENGINEERING OR CONSTRUCTION, FOR YOUR APPROVAL SPECIFICALLY FOR THAT PROJECT. WE CAN'T CLOSE THIS PROJECT UNTIL COUNCIL APPROVES THE CLOSING DOCUMENTS. THERE IS NO MONEY BEING SPENT AT THE UTILITIES DEPARTMENT IN ANY WAY, SHAPE OR FORM WITHOUT THE APPROVAL OF THE COUNCIL AT LEAST THREE TIMES. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. WE'RE GONNA MOVE NOW TO OUR CAPITAL BUDGET, PLEASE. OH, I'M SORRY. COUNCIL MEMBER. FRANK, I'LL WAIT IN, MAYOR. OKAY. ALRIGHT. DO WE NEED ANOTHER BREAK? LEMME TAKE A FIVE MINUTE, LEMME TAKE A FIVE MINUTE BREAK PLEASE. WHEW. UM, CITY MANAGER. OH, I WAS WAITING ON CORNER. OKAY. OKAY. UM, LYNN, IF YOU WILL CONTINUE WITH OUR CAPITAL. YES. SO CAPITAL BUDGET, THIS IS YOUR CAPITAL PRESENTATION AND THE PAGE ON PAGE FOUR IS CAPITAL COST BY FUND. THERE HAS BEEN SOME CONFUSION, SO I WANT TO GO AHEAD AND CLEAR THAT UP. NOW IN TERMS OF WHAT IS FOR THE GOLF COURSE, IT IS, IT IS 61,000. THE REMAINDER OF WHAT PEOPLE SEE OR HAD HAD JUST BEEN MISCATEGORIZED. THE REMAINDERS ACTUALLY DRAINAGE AT THE GOLF COURSE. IT'S JUST THAT AREA AND THOSE ARE FUNDED BY OUR FEMA AND OTHER FEDERAL AND STATE GRANTS. BUT THIS JUST TELLS YOU BY FUND WHAT THE CAPITAL COSTS ARE. R AND THEN THE NEXT PAGE IS PAGE FIVE, I BELIEVE THAT IS WHAT COUNCIL MEMBER FRANK HAD ORIGINALLY TALKED ABOUT. MAKE SURE MM-HMM . CLASS BY DIVISION ALL AND HERE'S [02:15:01] JUST BY DIVISION WHERE IT BREAKS IT UP A LITTLE BIT MORE. AND AGAIN, LET ME SEE IF THERE'S ANYTHING ELSE. I THINK GOLF COURSE STILL IS AT 61,000. IF YOU LOOK AT THAT DRAINAGE TOTAL, WHAT SOME PEOPLE HAVE SEEN ONLINE IS THAT THE DRAINAGE IS THE LOCATION, ONCE AGAIN IS BY THE GOLF COURSE, BUT IT'S NOT GOLF COURSE DRAINAGE. SO THAT'S A JUST A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT AND WE'LL GET ALL OF THIS CLEANED UP AHEAD OF TIME. BUT GENERALLY EVERYTHING ELSE IS HERE BY DIVISION, YOU CAN SEE THAT AND YOU CAN SEE THE AMOUNT OF CAPITAL, THE, ESPECIALLY THAT SECOND COLUMN WHERE YOU SEE THE WATER IN CAPITAL WATER AND SEWER CAPITAL TOTAL AND THE WATER AND SEWER, TWDB. AND YOU'LL ALSO SEE THE EDC IN THERE AS WELL. I WANTED TO BREAK IT DOWN BY DIVISION SO WE COULD BE A LITTLE BIT MORE TRANSPARENT AS TO WHERE THESE COSTS ARE GOING. AND THEN I GO AHEAD AND CONSOLIDATE IT AS A CAPA COST BY DEPARTMENT. AND I'D JUST LIKE TO SHOW THE GRAPHS. I'M KIND OF VISUAL AND SOMETIMES SEEING THESE NUMBERS IS EVEN DIFFICULT FOR ME. SO I WANTED TO SEE WHERE, WHERE'S ALL OF THESE COSTS GOING? WHERE ARE, ARE THEY, WERE THEY BEING DIRECTED? AND YOU CAN SEE THE PERCENTAGES THAT ARE ON THERE. AND I WENT FROM THE GREATEST TO THE LEAST ALL THE WAY DOWN. THE FUNDS ARE IN BALANCE. THE SOURCES OF FUND FOR THE CAPITAL ARE PREVIOUS BONDS THAT HAVE NOT BEEN SPENT OR THAT HAVE BEEN ENCUMBERED AND NOT SPENT YET THAT NEED TO BE REAPPROPRIATED FOR FISCAL YEAR 27. THEY INCLUDE THE NEW BONDS, THE NOTICE OF INTENT OF THE $50 MILLION THAT WE HAD TALKED ABOUT. A LOT OF THE SPECIAL REVENUE FUNDS, WE'VE GOT GRANTS, WE HAVE TRANSFERS, AND WE HAVE WHAT I CALL THE PREVIOUSLY APPROVED AND ARE RESTRICTED, WHICH MEANS YOU HAD ALREADY SAID YES TO THESE PROJECTS. EITHER THEY HAVEN'T STARTED OR THEY'RE GETTING READY TO START. AND WE'RE ANTICIPATING THAT THEY WILL BE FINISHED IN FISCAL YEAR 27. AND THAT ACTUALLY CONCLUDES MY PART OF CAPITAL. IF YOU HAVE FURTHER QUESTIONS, I HAVE MY CIP MANAGER, IZA, WHO HAS BEEN DOING A WONDERFUL JOB. AS I MENTIONED EARLIER, YOU ACTUALLY HAVE A SEPARATE CAPITAL BOOK THAT STARTS ON PAGE 3 39 OF THAT PROPOSED BOOK. AND HE'S BEEN DOING REALLY WELL IN PUTTING THIS TOGETHER. WE WANT TO MAKE THIS AS CLEAR, CLEAR, CLEAR, CLEAR, CLEAR AS POSSIBLE, WHERE THE MONEY IS COMING FROM AND WHERE IT'S GOING. OKAY. I HAVE UH, COUNCIL MEMBER, FRANK. ALRIGHT, MAYOR. THANK YOU. THIS IS THE SLIDE THAT I WAS TRYING TO GET TO. UM, ON PAGE FIVE, UH, THAT SLIDE WAS THE ONE THAT I WAS TRYING TO GET TO BECAUSE I THINK IT ANSWERS THE QUESTIONS THAT SO MANY OF OUR CITIZENS AND, UM, MRS. SANCHEZ WAS RAISING THAT QUESTION ABOUT WHERE'S THE MONEY AND HOW ARE WE SPENDING IT? THE OLD ADAGE SAYS THAT YOU PUT YOUR MONEY WHERE YOUR MOUTH IS, THAT YOU SPEND THE MONEY ON THOSE THINGS THAT ARE MOST IMPORTANT TO US. AND SO WHEN YOU LOOK AT THAT SLIDE, SHE HAS PLACED THEM IN ORDER, UH, OUR CAPITAL COST BY DEPARTMENT. AND YOU'LL SEE PUBLIC WORKS TOTAL IS THE LARGEST PORTION OR PERCENTAGE OF OUR EXPENDITURES IN OUR CAPITAL COSTS AT 77,996,523. THAT STREETS, THOSE ARE PUBLIC WORKS. THAT'S THE COST OF KEEPING THINGS RUNNING AND MOVING IN OUR, IN OUR CITY. AND THEN OF COURSE RIGHT BEHIND THAT, OUR WASTEWATER, THAT'S OUR SEWAGE, OUR DRAINAGE, ALL OF THOSE COSTS THAT ARE, ARE GOING ON IN OUR CITY. AND THAT'S SECOND AT 33.4%. SO THE MAJORITY OF OUR MONIES ARE GOING TOWARD OUR STREETS, GOING TO OUR SEWERS SO WE CAN FLUSH OUR TOILETS SO THAT WE DON'T HAVE SEWAGE, UH, GATHERING IN OUR YARDS AND ALL OF THOSE THINGS. AND MAKING SURE THAT WE'VE GOT A $67 MILLION WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANT THAT WE HAVE BEEN BUILDING AND MAKING SURE THAT WE DON'T GET INTO THE TROUBLES THAT CITIES LIKE FLINT OR UM, MISS [02:20:01] IN JACKSON, MISSISSIPPI HAVE GOTTEN INTO. AND THOSE ARE GREAT MAYORS. I KNOW THEM, BUT WE DON'T HAVE THOSE ISSUES IN OUR CITY BECAUSE WE ARE TRYING TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE STAYING AHEAD OF THE PROBLEMS THAT WE'VE HAD. SO THAT'S WHERE WE'RE SPENDING OUR MONEY. YOU LOOK AND SEE AS WELL AT THE GOLF COURSE, WE'VE ONLY SPENT $174,631 ON THAT, THAT A LOT OF THAT MONEY THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT, THAT $2.3 MILLION WAS THE DEEPENING AND WIDENING OF THE RETENTION PONDS THERE. THAT WENT INTO THE DRAINAGE THAT WE WERE FIXING OUT IN THAT AREA AS WELL BECAUSE WE HAD SUCH A, A, A, AN ISSUE OF FLOODING DURING HURRICANE HARVEY AND WE WERE MAKING SURE THAT THE DRAINAGE WAS OPERATING. SO PART OF THAT $2.3 MILLION YOU SEE ON THE GOLF COURSE WAS NOT JUST FOR THE SAKE OF THE GOLFERS BEING ABLE TO GOLF, BUT ALSO FOR THE REMOVAL OF WATER DURING THE TIMES OF FLOODING AS WELL BECAUSE WE DEEPENED AND WIDENED THOSE RETENTION PONDS WITH SOME OF THOSE MONIES AS WELL. SO WE ARE PUTTING OUR MONEY WHERE OUR MOUTH IS, THE PRIORITIES ARE PUBLIC WORKS, STREETS, WASTEWATERS, UH, AND AS WELL YOU WRITE COMING RIGHT DOWN IS THE FIRE TOTAL THAT, UM, THAT'S BEING DONE WITH OUR FIRE DEPARTMENTS AND THOSE THINGS THAT WE'RE DOING. SO I THINK OUR PRIORITIES ARE STRAIGHT IN THE CITY OF PORT ARTHUR. THANK YOU. ALRIGHT, THANK YOU. I HAVE NOTE OTHER OKAY. COUNCIL MEMBER JACOBS HERE. UM, THANK YOU MAYOR. UM, I JUST HAVE A COUPLE OF GENERAL QUESTIONS, UM, AND I'LL TRY TO REF, UH, REFER TO DIFFERENT PAGES HERE. SO, UM, FIRST TWO QUESTIONS ARE THE, THE FUNDS THAT THERE ARE TRANSFERS FROM FUND ONE 20 AND FUND ONE 40, CAN YOU SHARE SOME INSIGHT AS TO WHAT THOSE FUNDS ARE? FUND ONE 20 IS THE EDC. OKAY. AND THEN YOU MENTIONED ONE 40 HOTEL. OKAY. HOTEL. HOTEL TAX, HOT TAX, HOTEL OCCUPANCY TAX. OKAY. THANK YOU. AND THEN, UM, KIND OF ALIGNED WITH SOMETHING THAT COUNCILMAN FRANK JUST MENTIONED. SO NOW LOOKING HERE AT OUR CAPITAL, UM, IMPROVEMENTS BUDGET, THERE IS A 50% INCREASE IN GOLF COURSE IMPROVEMENTS FROM LAST YEAR TO THIS YEAR. SO THAT, IF I'M NOT MISTAKEN, I'M TRYING TO RECALL SOME OF WHAT WAS MENTIONED EARLIER. DOES THAT ACCOUNT FOR WHAT THE, UM, EDC IS PLANNING TO ALLOCATE? NO. OKAY. SO IF YOU COULD SHARE SOME INSIGHTS ABOUT WHAT THAT IS COMPRISED OF, THAT'S GONNA BE ON YOUR CAPITAL SCHEDULE. MM-HMM . AND THAT IS IN THE, THE BIG PROPOSED BOOK. THE CIPI BELIEVE THAT STARTS ON PAGE 3 38. AND I'M GONNA GET TO WHERE YOU HAD ASKED ABOUT THE GOLF. I'M GOING TO LET OSA TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THAT, THAT MONEY AND THE MONEY WITH THE GOLF COURSE AND HOW THAT'S INCREASED AND WHERE THAT MONEY IS COMING FROM. THAT'S FINE. AND I'M ON PAGE 3 42 BY THE WAY. SO THAT'S WHERE I WAS REFERENCING. HELLO? I'M SORRY. THANK YOU. COUNCIL MEMBER JACOBS. SO A LOT OF THAT MONEY RIGHT NOW WE HAVE THE 5.5 MILLION THAT WAS FROM LAST YEAR. UH, THE DRAINAGE IMPROVEMENTS AND PUMP STATIONS AND THINGS LIKE THAT. BUT RIGHT NOW, CURRENTLY WE DO HAVE THE EDC ONE 20 TRANSFER FUNDS FOR BE FOR 2.3 MILLION, UH, AS WELL AS LONG AS WITH THE, THE FEMA AND HARVEY THAT WE'RE GOING, THAT'S GONNA BE INTO THERE. SO A LOT OF THOSE FUNDS AREN'T NECESSARILY INCREASED, BUT, YOU KNOW, PREVIOUSLY APPROVED RESTRICTED THAT'S GOING TO CARRY [02:25:01] FORWARD PLUS THE THINGS THAT WE DO PLAN TO DO THIS YEAR WITH THAT MONEY. OKAY. IS THERE A POSSIBLE, A WAY POSSIBLE JUST, AND THIS IS FROM ME, , I DON'T KNOW IF ANYONE ELSE WOULD WANT IT, BUT TO KNOW THE ALLOCATION FROM THIS YEAR. RIGHT? CARVE IT OUT. SO CARVE OUT THIS YEAR'S ALLOCATION JUST SO WE CAN SEE IT COMPARED AND, AND BE ABLE TO SEE IT RELATIVE TO PREVIOUS YEARS. YES. WE CAN HAVE THAT BROKEN DOWN BETWEEN WHAT'S GOING TO BE FROM LAST YEAR AND WHAT'S GOING TO BE NEW THIS YEAR. YES. UM, AND THEN MY OTHER, UM, KIND OF QUESTION, COMMENT, UH, I THINK THIS MIGHT BE MORE SO FOR, UH, CITY MANAGER. SO WHEN LOOKING AT THIS, AND I MEAN THIS WAS VERY WELL PREPARED, SO THANK YOU. UM, SOME OF THE FONT IS A LITTLE SMALL, BUT GOT MY GLASSES ON, SO IT'S OKAY. UM, BUT SOMETHING THAT I DID NOTICE, AND YOU KNOW, I KNOW THE CIVIC CENTER'S ALWAYS A HOT TOPIC. UM, IT'S GOOD TO SEE THAT THERE IS A WIDE SPREAD RIGHT OF, OF WHERE WE'RE LOOKING TO ALLOCATE FUNDS. BUT I'M GONNA HARP ON THE CIVIC CENTER FOR A MOMENT, AND THAT'S BECAUSE IT'S PROBABLY THE MOST UTILIZED CITY FACILITY ASIDE FROM THE ONE WE'RE SITTING IN. UM, AND BECAUSE THAT IS THE FACILITY IN WHICH OUR CITIZENS HAVE A VERY HIGH LEVEL OF INTERFACE, RIGHT? SO, YOU KNOW, DEALING WITH MR. SAUNDERS, SIGNING THE CONTRACTS, PAYING THE NECESSARY FEES FOR THE FACILITY ITSELF, THE USE OF THE FACILITY ITSELF, AS WELL AS ALL OF THE SECURITY AND SAFETY PROTOCOL THAT COME ALONG WITH IT IN THE, THE ASSOCIATED PIECE, I DID NOT SEE MAYBE WHAT I EXPECTED TO SEE HERE AS FAR AS CAPITAL OUTLAYS FOR THE CIVIC CENTER. I DO SEE THAT THERE ARE SOME HVAC REPAIRS, THANK GOD, UM, BECAUSE I'VE ATTENDED SEVERAL EVENTS THERE OVER THE COURSE OF THIS SUMMER AND IT HAS BEEN HUMID. AND I, FOR ONE, DON'T THINK IT'S FAIR TO CHARGE CITIZENS THE SAME AMOUNT FOR A FACILITY THAT'S NOT OPERATING AT OPTIMAL. AND THAT IS A PER VERY PERSONAL FEELING. UM, AGAIN, I'VE BEEN TO EVENTS IN THERE WHERE THE FLOOR IS SWEATING, THE WALLS ARE SWEATING, AND THE PEOPLE THERE ARE UNCOMFORTABLE, YET THEY'VE PAID THE, THE FULL COST OF WHAT IS SUPPOSED TO BE OTHERWISE, YOU KNOW, AT AN OPERABLE VENUE. UM, AND SO AGAIN, THESE ARE VERY KIND OF PERSONAL FEELINGS, BUT I ALSO THINK THAT I ECHO THE SENTIMENTS OF MANY CITIZENS, MANY OF WHICH I'VE HAD APPROACH ME AT SEVERAL EVENTS OVER THE SUMMER, UM, WITH COMPLAINTS, YOU KNOW, ABOUT WHAT IT FEELS LIKE IN THERE. AND THE FACT THAT YOU'RE PAYING ALL OF THIS MONEY AND, YOU KNOW, SIGNING CONTRACTS, PUTTING YOUR NAME ON IT, AND THE CITIZENS ARE BEING HELD TO A LEVEL OF RESPONSIBILITY THAT SOMETIMES IT SEEMS LIKE THE CITY IS NOT HOLDING ITSELF TO, TO RISE UP TO OUR OBLIGATION. RIGHT? AND SO I'M JUST GONNA SAY THIS AND I DON'T KNOW, YOU KNOW, WHERE WE KIND OF STAND WITH, WITH ANY ADJUSTMENTS TO THE CAPITAL OUTLAYS, BUT I WOULD SUGGEST THAT WE TAKE A SERIOUS LOOK AT HOW WE CAN FURTHER IMPROVE THAT FACILITY BECAUSE AGAIN, THE TRAFFIC THERE OUTPACES THAT OF ANY OTHER FACILITY IN THIS CITY. UM, AND IF IT'S DONE CORRECTLY, RIGHT, WE CAN CONTINUE HAVING, HAVING TO BE BOOKED UP EVERY WEEKEND OVER EXTENDED PERIODS OF TIME. AND THAT IS A CONSTANT SOURCE OF REVENUE, I'M SURE FOR, UM, FOR THE CITY AND VARIOUS ENTITIES WITHIN THE CITY, THE VARIOUS DEPARTMENTS RATHER WITHIN THE CITY. UM, SO JUST SOMETHING IN THE BEST INTEREST OF CITIZENS, HONESTLY, ASIDE FROM THE OBVIOUS ROADS AND ET CETERA, THAT INTERFACE THAT PEOPLE HAVE WITH THE, UH, THE CIVIC CENTER, WHETHER THEY BE FROM PUERTO ARTHUR OR FROM OUTSIDE THE CITY, UM, IT IS DEFINITELY A HOT TOPIC, A POINT OF CONVERSATION, AND I THINK IT'S SOMETHING WORTH, UH, SHIFTING SOME LEVEL OF ATTENTION AND FUNDS TO. OKAY. ALL RIGHT. UH, DID YOU NEED AN ANSWER? YES, LYNN WAS JUST BRINGING IT TO MY ATTENTION. IF YOU GO TO PAGE NUMBER 51 51 3 51, 3 53 3 5 1 RIGHT HERE ON THE CIVIC CENTER SUMMARY. YES. UM, ALTHOUGH THERE ARE VARIOUS, UM, ASSETS THAT FALL UNDER THE JURISDICTION OF THE CIVIC CENTER OR THE MANAGER OF THE CIVIC CENTER, UM, YOU'LL SEE WHERE THE INCREASES [02:30:01] ARE, BUT I TOTALLY AGREE WITH YOU. UM, THE DIRECTOR OF THE CIVIC CENTER AND MYSELF ARE IN THE DISCUSSION RIGHT NOW. UM, NOT NOT ONLY ABOUT UPGRADING THE CHILDREN SYSTEM, BUT THE FLOORS AND, AND VARIOUS UPGRADES THAT WE NEED TO MAKE TO THE CIVIC CENTER. SO I TOLD ADAM WE NEED TO, TO PUT THAT MASTER PLAN TOGETHER FOR THE UPGRADES AND WE COULD COME NEXT YEAR AS WELL. UM, THIS YEAR WHAT WE ARE LOOKING AT SPECIFICALLY THIS YEAR, WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT SPECIFICALLY IS A GENERATOR THAT WILL COST US ABOUT 800,000 BUCKS. UM, UM, AND WE ARE DOING THAT IN PARTNERSHIP WITH ENTITY, UM, TO MAKE SURE THAT THE GENERATOR HAS BEEN INSTALLED, IF YOU HAVE ANY SPECIAL EVENTS AT THE CIVIC CENTER, THAT WE CONTINUE TO HAVE THE SERVICES AVAILABLE TO OUR GUESTS AND, UM, WE CONTINUE TO MEET OUR CONTRACTUAL OBLIGATIONS AS WELL AS THOSE OF US WHO REMEMBER HAVING, WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT, UM, THE CIVIC CENTER REMAINS A PRIMARY ASSET, UM, TO HOUSE OUR CITIZENS IN THE EVENT OF A DISASTER. UM, SO WE ARE FOCUSING ON THAT, BUT YES, THAT IS ON THE WAY AND IN THE NEXT BUDGET YOU COULD HOLD US TO THAT WE WILL SEE SOME SIGNIFICANT, UM, PROPOSALS BEING PUT FORWARD FOR THE, UM, IMPROVEMENTS OF THE FACILITIES AT THE CIVIC CENTER POINT WELL TAKEN. YEAH, AND SINCE YOU MENTIONED IT, UM, QUESTION FOR YOU, UM, IS THAT PART OF THE ENERGY POWERED THROUGH YES. PROGRAM? YES. IT'S OKAY. I DID WANNA BRING TO YOUR ATTENTION, AS YOU MENTIONED ABOUT THE GOLF, YOU WANTED TO KNOW WHAT HAD BEEN APPROVED BEFOREHAND AND WHAT IS BEING ASKED FOR, FOR 2027 SPECIFICALLY TO GOLF IT. THEY ARE ON PAGES 352 AND 355, WHICH SHOWS YOUR 2026 WHAT WE HAD ADOPTED, AND THEN WHAT WE ARE DOING ALSO FOR 2027. AND I BELIEVE THAT SHOULD SATISFY WHAT IS IT THAT WE HAD COMMITTED TO LAST YEAR AND WHAT ARE WE DOING THIS YEAR. AND UNDER THE, UNDER PAGE 3 52, IT'S ACTUALLY UNDER THE DRAINAGE. LET'S SEE, FIRE, UM, 3 55 DEVELOPMENT ENGINEERING, UH, PUBLIC WORK SUMMARY. I DON'T, I DON'T SEE DRAINAGE ON 3 52. I'M ON 3 52. YOU'RE ON THREE 50 UNLESS I'M OVERLOOKING IT. 3 52. YES. IT'S A SCHEDULE LAKE MARKER. YES, IT'S, IT'S UNDER ENGINEERING. 5.5 MILLION. YES. OH, ENGINEERING. OKAY. IT SAYS GOLF FOR THE LIFT STATION. OH, PUMP. OKAY. SO THAT'S WHAT I WANTED TO BRING YOUR ATTENTION TO. AND THEN ON PAGE 3 55, THERE'S A ANOTHER ONE THERE FOR GOLF COURSE IRRIGATION SYSTEM UNDER THE PARKS AND REC SUMMARY IN CAPITAL. SO I WANTED JUST TO BRING YOUR ATTENTION TO THAT AND WE'LL CONTINUE TO GET THIS CLEANED UP. AND I BELIEVE THAT SATISFIES, HERE'S WHAT WE SAID WE WANTED TO DO IN 26, WHETHER WE GOT IT DONE OR NOT IN WHAT WE'RE BRINGING FORWARD FROM 26 TO 27 AND ANYTHING ELSE THAT MIGHT BE NEW 55. OKAY. OKAY. ALL RIGHT. LET ME MAKE THAT CORRECTION. 3 54. 3 54, SORRY. OH YEAH, I SAW SOMETHING ELSE ON 3 55 . SO 3 54 AND WHICH LINE ITEM? THAT'S THE, THE PARKS IRRIGATION SYSTEM. I SAW THAT OVER HERE THOUGH. SEE I MM-HMM . SEE THE GOLF COURSE PUMP AND LIFT STATION RIGHT HERE. THAT'S 5 MILLION EDC ON LEDGERS EDC. YEAH, YOU SEE IT RIGHT HERE. EDC MOVED 2.30, OKAY. THERE WE GO. OH, GOLF COURSE. OKAY. SO THAT WAS, UM, OH YEAH, NOTHING PROPOSED ON 26. AND I HAVE ONE MORE COMMENT. OKAY. COUNCIL MEMBER JACOBS. YES MA'AM. THANK YOU MAYOR. AND I JUST HAVE ONE MORE COMMENT. UM, AGAIN, I THINK THIS, THIS BUDGET BOOK WAS JUST VERY WELL PREPARED, THE CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT, UM, PORTION OF IT AS WELL. [02:35:01] UM, I NOTED THAT, I WISH I KNEW WHICH PAGE IT WAS, BUT THE PAGE THAT KIND OF OUTLAYS THE CITIES, UH, STRATEGIC PLAN, I CAN'T FLIP FAST ENOUGH. BUT, UM, THERE WAS A ONE GENERAL KIND OF NOTATION THAT I MADE AND IT'S THAT, UM, A LOT OF THE 3 22 3 22, THAT SOUNDS RIGHT. LET'S SEE. YES. 3 22. SO WHAT, ONE THING THAT I NOTED WHEN I LOOKED AT, UM, PAGE FOUR IN PARTICULAR, AND I KNOW THIS WAS KIND OF LIKE LEADING UP TO BEING ABLE TO KICK THE PLAN OFF, UM, AND I DID READ ON SUBSEQUENT PAGES WHERE THERE ARE A FEW SPECIFIC, UM, THINGS LISTED, BUT I THINK IT WOULD BE USEFUL FOR US AND FOR THE CITY TO HAVE A TRUE TIMELINE THAT SHOWS THE DIFFERENT STAGE GATES AND WHEN WE MEET THEM. AND THAT CAN BE AN ACCOUNTABILITY TOOL FOR EVERYONE ALL AROUND SO THAT WE KNOW WHAT WE'RE WORKING TOWARDS. AND WHEN WE'RE LOOKING AT THINGS LIKE THE BUDGET, WE CAN LOOK AT THEM IN TANDEM WITH SAID KIND OF LIKE TIMELINE AND BE ABLE TO DETERMINE IF WE'RE REALLY ON PACE MEETING THE, UH, THE GOALS AND OBJECTIVES THAT WE SET FORTH IN THAT, IN THE STRATEGIC PLAN. BECAUSE WHEN, I THINK, WHEN WE THINK ABOUT IT, I THINK THIS WAS CREATED IN 2025. IT WAS A FIVE YEAR STRATEGIC PLAN. SO WE'RE HALFWAY THROUGH, UM, LITERALLY QUITE LITERALLY HALFWAY THROUGH THAT STRATEGIC PLAN WORKING TOWARDS 2030. AND SO TO BE ABLE TO ACCURATELY MEASURE THE PROGRESS AND ENSURE THAT THINGS SUCH AS CAPITAL OUTLAYS THAT WE'RE BUDGETING FOR ARE REALLY TRULY KEEPING US ON PATH TO ACHIEVE ALL OF THE, THE OBJECTIVES AND GOALS THAT WE SET FORTH IN 2025. IF YOU HAVE OPPORTUNITY TO LOOK AT SOME OF THE NARRATIVES FOR THE DEPARTMENTS, THE DEPARTMENTS DO OUTLINE THE GOALS THAT ARE IN LINE WITH THESE STRATEGIC GOALS SO THAT WE CAN ACTUALLY FOLLOW THOSE ALONG. MM-HMM . SO WE HAVE PUT THEM IN FRONT OF EVERY DEPARTMENT AT THE BEGINNING, ESPECIALLY IN GENERAL FUND. MM-HMM . YES. AND THAT'S APPRECIATED. SO IF WE CAN GET A, IN A CONSOLIDATED RIGHT, A CONSOLIDATED FASHION AND NOT JUST FOR US, FOR THE CITIZENS, SO THE CITIZENS KNOW BECAUSE WE CAN SAY TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY ALL WE WANT, BUT UNTIL PEOPLE SEE THAT THIS IS WHAT OUR LEADER SET FORTH TO DO AND THEN THEY'RE ACTUALLY ON PACE TO ACHIEVE THOSE THINGS, THE TRUST WILL CONTINUE TO BE FRACTURED. SO. ALRIGHT. UH, ONE OF THE THINGS TO BUILD ON THAT, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE WILL PRESENT THE COUNCIL WITH IS A SUMMARY OF THIS BUDGET, UM, IN ABOUT 50 PAGES OR LESS, YOU KNOW, UM, WHERE WE WILL FOCUS AND HIGHLIGHT AGAIN THE STRATEGIC PLAN AND EVERY OTHER POLICY DOCUMENT THAT WE HAVE TOUCHED ON IN ORDER TO PROVIDE YOU WITH THIS BUDGET. SO WE WILL HAVE A SUMMARY OF THIS BUDGET SO THAT, AND WE'LL POST IT ON ONLINE SO THAT CITIZENS CAN ACTUALLY SEE WHAT IT IS THAT WE, UM, ATTEMPTING TO ACHIEVE OUT THERE. AND AS YOU SAID, COUNCILMAN COUNCILWOMAN JACOBS, IT'LL PROVIDE TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY TO US SO THAT CITIZENS CAN GO BACK AND LOOK AT IT AS WELL AS THE COUNCIL CAN. AND, UM, WE COULD USE THAT TO MEASURE HOW OUR DEPARTMENTS ARE DOING AS WELL. UH, I WANTED TO ADD IN MORE TO THAT POINT. I'VE BEEN WORKING A LOT. IF YOU START AT PAGE THREE, UH, 3 55 WHERE WE START SEEING SOME OF THOSE PICTURES AND EXAMPLES OF WHAT IT WILL LOOK LIKE IN THE CLAV SYSTEM, WE DO HAVE A METRIC MEASURING HOW THESE PROJECTS ADHERE AND WHAT TO WHAT LEVEL THEY ADHERE TO THE STRATEGIC PLAN. AND THAT CLEAR GOV SYSTEM WILL BE A PUBLIC FACING SYSTEM ONCE WE FULLY LAUNCH IT. THAT WAY OUR, OUR CITIZENS CAN GO ONLINE AND ACTUALLY SEE THE PROJECTS, HOW MUCH WE'RE SPENDING, HOW CLOSE WE ARE TO COMPLETING THOSE PROJECTS, AS WELL AS THE ADHERENCE TO THE STRATEGIC PLAN AS WELL. I LIKE THAT. MM-HMM . THAT'S VERY GOOD. THANK YOU. AND ONCE AGAIN, I'M GONNA ECHO THAT THIS IS A VERY WELL PREPARED BUDGET BOOK. I WAS IMPRESSED LOOKING AT IT. I THINK IT'S COMPREHENSIVE AND THANK YOU FOR THAT 'CAUSE THE PICTURES AS WELL AS THE INDICATORS OF WHERE WE STOOD WITH SCOPE IN RELATION TO THE STRATEGIC PLAN. VERY WELL DONE. YEAH. VERY. AND MAY ALSO COUNCIL MEMBERS ALSO, AS WE HAVE DONE WITH THE STREET PROGRAM, WE WILL CONTINUE TO BUILD ON IT IN PROVIDING INFORMATION ON A MONTHLY BASIS TO OUR CITIZENS. BECAUSE EVERY MONTH AS WE HAVE COMPLETED [02:40:01] CERTAIN PROJECTS WITH THE STREET PROGRAM, WE CONTINUE TO WORK WITH THE ENGINEERING AND WITH THE PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT TO UPDATE THE LIST. THAT'S, I'M GONNA REMEMBER THAT. YES. SO WE, WE WILL HOLD THE HEADS OF DEPARTMENT RESPONSIBLE FOR THAT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE PROVIDE THAT INFORMATION MONTHLY TO THE CITIZENS SO THAT THEY CAN SEE AS THE PROJECT IS BEING EXECUTED AND IT'S BEING CLOSED, WE WORK WITH THE FINANCE DEPARTMENT, THE PROJECT CLOSED IS BEING POSTED ONLINE. RIGHT. THAT'S PEOPLE CAN, CITIZENS CAN SEE THE UPDATE. THAT'S RIGHT. MONTHLY WORKS STREETS WE'VE DONE. YES. YES. AND NOW THAT WE HAVE DONE THAT, WE HAVE A LIST OF PROJECTS IN THE, THE BUDGET, WE WILL POST THOSE AS WELL. WHERE NEXT WE ARE GOING MM-HMM . BUT I LIKE THE OVERVIEW. UM, THERE'S, THERE ARE NO MORE LIGHTS, SO I CAN SPEAK NOW , BUT, UM, THE OVERVIEW OF ALL THE DEPARTMENTS AND EXPLAINING TO, UH, US IS VERY DETAILED ABOUT WHERE THEIR GOALS AND OBJECTIVES ARE, WHERE THEY ARE, WHAT THEY'RE DOING IS, IT'S, IT'S, IT'S REALLY, REALLY CLEAR STRATEGIC PLAN ALIGNMENT. UM, FOR INSTANCE, PORT ARTHUR, THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT 20 25, 20 26 ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 20 26, 20 27 GOALS. IT LETS US, AS COUNCIL MEMBERS KNOW, UM, YOU KNOW, UM, WHERE THE DEPARTMENTS ARE. IT GIVES US AN OPPORTUNITY TO HAVE AN UPDATE ON WHERE WE ARE. SO I I REALLY APPRECIATE THIS BUDGET BOOK. EXCELLENT. EXCELLENT JOB TO THE STAFF. AND I THANK YOU ALL FOR WHAT YOU'VE DONE AND PRESENTED THE EXTRA MILE YOU'VE GONE TO, UH, PROVIDE US WITH THAT INFORMATION. Y'ALL HAVE DONE AN EXCELLENT JOB. I REALLY, REALLY APPRECIATE IT. ALRIGHT. MAY I JUST WANNA LOOK BACK IN WORKING FOR OUR DEPARTMENT HEADS IN WORKING UP FOR OUR DEPARTMENT HEADS TO COMPILE THE INFORMATION AND TO PUT IT TOGETHER, UM, AS YOU SAID, THE DEPARTMENT HEADS WORK VERY CLOSELY WITH THESE TWO INDIVIDUALS AND WITH PAM TO MAKE SURE THAT THE FIGURES REALLY REFLECT, YOU KNOW, OUR REVENUES AND OUR EXPENDITURES AND PROVIDE TRANSPARENCY FOR EVERYONE TO SEE. YOU KNOW, I WANT, I WANT TO THANK THEM IMMENSELY. UM, FOR THAT I TRULY HOPE THAT WE CAN GET THIS INFORMATION. FOR INSTANCE, FIRE DEPARTMENT, IT SAYS HOW MANY CALLS OF SERVICE THEY'VE HAD, HOW MANY FIRE INSPECTIONS, FIRE INVESTIGATIONS, FIRE HYDRANTS TESTED. I MEAN, THAT IS, THAT IS CRITICAL INFORMATION THAT I THINK OUR CITIZENS NEED TO KNOW. COUNSEL AS WELL AS, UH, I WANNA MAKE SURE THAT THIS INFORMATION IS OUT THERE FOR CITIZENS. THEY CAN SEE THE TRANSPARENCY AND, AND THE HARD WORK THAT THESE DEPARTMENT HEADS ARE TRYING TO PUT FORTH IN THE EFFORTS. I, I JUST COMMEND OUR CITY AS ONE OF THE TOP IN THE WHOLE STATE OF TEXAS. I REALLY DO, UM, THINK THAT WE HAVE DONE IN MAGNIFICENT JOB IN PREPARING, UM, SOMEBODY NEEDS TO GO LOOK AT OUR WEB, OUR INFORMATION AND TAKE A, A COUPLE OF, UH, IDEAS FROM IT TO PREPARE THEIR OWN INFORMATION. BUT Y'ALL HAVE DONE A GREAT JOB. I'M NOT MENTIONING ANY CITY NAMES. I DON'T WANNA GET ACCUSED OF ANYTHING. BUT ANYWAY, GREAT JOB. A GREAT JOB. GREAT JOB. THANK YOU. WE HAVE ANY MORE LIGHTS? OH, COUNCIL MEMBER FRANK. YEAH, I, AGAIN, I'VE ALREADY TOLD YOU LYNN, THAT I, I APPRECIATE YOU SO MUCH, BUT EVIE AND AOSA, THANK YOU SO MUCH, UH, FOR THAT CITY MANAGER. THANK YOU. YEAH, CITY MANAGER, YOU'RE AT THE TOP OF THE, YOU'RE AT THE TOP. HEY, THEY'RE MAKING YOU LOOK GOOD RIGHT NOW. JT, KEEP TELLING OUR STORY. YES. KEEP TELLING OUR STORY. UM, YOU KNOW, THAT'S WHAT'S IMPORTANT. UM, TELL THE STORY. WE GOTTA TELL OUT ON THE STORY. 'CAUSE YEAH, CHIEF, CHIEF IS ALWAYS, CHIEF IS ALWAYS, HE'S QUIET, BUT HE, YOU KNOW, QUIET BUT STRONG. HE ALWAYS THERE WHEN WE NEED HIM. BUT THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR WHAT YOU'RE DOING AND THANK YOU FOR THIS BUDGET AND THANK ALL THE DEPARTMENT HEADS. THANK EVERYBODY WHO'S ALWAYS ON CALL. YOU ALL DO A GREAT JOB. THANK YOU. OKAY, NOW TOMORROW WE HAVE OUR REGULAR MEETING AND THEN WE HAVE ANOTHER BUDGET, ONE MORE BUDGET MEETING, AND THAT'S GONNA BE SEPTEMBER 14TH. 14TH. AND IT'LL BE IN THE EVENING AT FIVE 30. AND THAT'LL BE OUR LAST, UM, BUDGET MEETING PRIOR TO US ADOPTING THE BUDGET. THANK YOU ALSO VERY MUCH DEPARTMENT HEADS. THANK YOU. THANK YOU, THANK YOU. THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE AT THIS TIME WE'RE GONNA ENTERTAIN A MOTION TO, UH, ADJOURN OUR MEETING. SO MOVED. SECOND. IT'S BEEN MOVED. AND SECOND. ALL IN FAVOR SAY AYE. AYE. ANY NOS, AYES HAVE IT. WE'RE GONNA CONCLUDE THIS MEETING AT 1:14 PM HAVE A GREAT EVENING. * This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.